For example, rising temperatures are making the Arctic region more accessible and have led to its emergence as a new area of strategic focus. Among the report’s recommendations was the proposal that defence acquisition bodies mandate the inclusion of climate-resistant design features in the future.Ĭlimate-resilient vehicle design is being advocated not simply in response to a more challenging environment, but also to take advantage of new strategic opportunities. The report noted that personnel and equipment will have to operate in ‘climate-degraded conditions’ more frequently and argued that ‘climate-related changes in different operating environments are likely to increase the need for equipment to have resilience or be designed to enable efficient adaptation to environmental extremes’. A recent report by the RAND Corporation, commissioned by the UK Ministry of Defence, noted the need for climate-resilient equipment in response to the growing threat of climate change.
There is now growing recognition that, as a result of climate change, armed forces will have to plan for a world where harsher climates and extreme temperatures are increasingly common. Here are two key areas where military vehicle design will change in response to climate change. The military will face pressure to lower its carbon footprint and move toward hybrid vehicles and alternative fuels where possible, but it will also need to procure equipment, including military vehicles, that are adapted for a world where climactic conditions have changed. The design of military equipment will need to evolve in line with the latest strategic thinking on climate change. Nowadays, the United Nations Security Council recognises climate change as a ‘threat multiplier’ and most Western states accept this approach. Traditionally, security analysts focused only on relationships among states.
Military thinking on climate change has evolved as awareness of the threat has grown. The biggest impacts were felt by Hurricane Ida in the US in August and by flooding in Europe in July. A study by Christian Aid, a charity fighting global poverty, identified ten extreme weather events that cost more than $1.5bn in damage in 2021.
According to the most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), scientists now have increasing confidence that there is a link between human activity and extreme weather events.Īt the same time, there is a growing recognition of the impact extreme weather is having. Recent years have witnessed a growth in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.
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