At a closed‑door briefing during the UN General Assembly, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband presented a suppressed UK intelligence assessment that links the accelerating climate and nature crises to mounting threats to national security, urging allies to treat environmental breakdown as a core defence issue.
The Suppressed Security Report
The joint intelligence committee (JIC) study, which was blocked from release last October by Downing Street, concludes that the collapse of ecosystems such as the Amazon and Congo rainforests will trigger conflict, mass migration and food shortages. A redacted version emerged in January under a Freedom of Information request, but ministers have continued to resist calls for the full document to be made public. Richard Nugee, a retired general and security expert, told the Guardian that governments must view climate hazards in the same light as hostile state actions: “If a bridge is washed away, it has the same impact whether it’s done by [a foreign power] or the climate,” he said. “The climate crisis will affect food security, energy security water security, and lead to migration and potentially the recruitment of farmers to [terrorist organisations such as] Isis. Countries should absolutely be treating this as a national security issue.” He added that the suppression was unsurprising because “very rare” security reports are ever published.
Miliband’s Warning on El Niño
Speaking to foreign ministers from the EU, Kenya and other nations, Miliband stressed that the forthcoming El Niño, intensified by climate breakdown, will test global food systems like never before. He warned: “We face an El Niño that is already set to be the most intense in living memory.” He continued: “This will intensify climate shocks that compound and cascade across borders, threatening food and water security, displacing communities, putting pressure on markets and scarring economies.” Miliband noted that recent heatwaves, poor harvests and rising food prices had already given governments a preview of the challenges ahead.
Calls for Climate‑Security Integration
He argued that climate and nature loss can no longer be left to environment ministers alone, declaring: “Climate change and nature loss have never been issues for climate and environment ministers alone.” He went on: “They are defining challenges for our citizens, our economies, our foreign policy and our national security.” Miliband urged nations to anticipate risks, invest in resilience and seize the opportunities presented by the clean energy transition. He concluded with a rallying statement: “The countries fit for the future will be those that see climate and nature as intrinsic to economic and national security. Countries that anticipate risks and invest in resilience before crises hit. Countries that seize the incredible opportunities the clean energy transition presents. Countries that don’t just see the connections but act on them.” He affirmed that the UK would place climate and nature security at the heart of its national security and foreign policy decision‑making.
Funding and New Appointments
To back up the rhetoric, Miliband announced a £330 million contribution to the Global Environment Facility, the main international fund for protecting nature, earmarked for forests, oceans and other critical ecosystems in developing countries. He also said he would appoint a new special representative for climate security and create a ministerial taskforce on “the national security and resilience risks of a changing climate and nature loss”, bringing together military and security experts alongside climate scientists. The initiative follows his earlier pledge, made shortly after taking office in July, to put climate at the centre of UK foreign policy.
Why it Matters
The UK’s decision to foreground climate and nature as security issues marks a shift that could reshape how nations allocate defence budgets, plan military operations and engage in diplomacy. By framing environmental degradation as a threat multiplier akin to traditional security challenges, the government is pushing for a pre‑emptive approach that invests in resilience now rather than reacting to crises later. If other states follow suit, the resulting cooperation could reduce the risk of climate‑driven conflict, protect vulnerable populations and unlock funding for sustainable development—turning a looming danger into a catalyst for global stability.