Environment shapes security

In its latest report section, 'Environment shapes security', the WBGU shows that environmental protection serves to safeguard the provision of basic public services and therefore constitutes an indispensable component of forward-looking, interdisciplinary security policy. The Advisory Council recommends permanently incorporating environment-related threats into the work of the National Security Council and systematically integrating this issue into risk analyses alongside traditional military and economic security considerations. "Security begins with the protection of our natural life-support systems. Anyone who ignores climate risks, biodiversity loss and environmental pollution is underestimating the security-policy challenges of our time,” the WBGU emphasizes. 

The report section then examines three areas of action in more detail:

In the WBGU's view, halting climate change and reducing global temperatures in the long term by removing CO₂ from the atmosphere are central building blocks of an integrated security architecture. “The most important prerequisite for this is to phase out the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas as quickly and completely as possible,” says Hans-Otto Pörtner, climate expert at the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven and co-author of the report. Switching the world's energy systems to renewable sources such as solar or wind power could enhance resilience and the security of supply while simultaneously expanding geostrategic room for manoeuvre. 

The WBGU defines natural infrastructure as ecosystems that contribute to civil protection, for example by mitigating heat, purifying the air or counteracting climate change. In order to do justice to the strategic importance of these areas for security, the Advisory Council considers a number of measures to be meaningful. For example, natural infrastructure should be prioritized by law, and its protection should continue to receive ambitious financial support, not only in Germany but also within the framework of international cooperation models such as the Green Climate Fund. Furthermore, it is important to further develop comprehensive early-warning systems that prevent creeping environmental threats from curtailing ecosystem services. To mitigate risks, it is also necessary to raise public awareness of the security relevance of natural infrastructure. In this regard, it could be helpful to create incentives for people to take on voluntary roles in civil protection or to participate in citizen science projects. “Such activities reinforce our own resilience and that of our society,” says Claudia Traidl-Hoffmann, Professor and Chief Physician for Environmental Medicine at the University of Augsburg and co-author of the report section. “In my consultations with patients, I emphasize every day that a healthy, safe life is only possible with intact ecosystems.”

Ecosystem conservation and the joint management of natural resources can contribute to mutual understanding and peace by increasing trust between governments or individual societal groups. Such approaches should therefore be systematically expanded in development cooperation and peace-building. The WBGU advocates cooperative, inclusive ecosystem protection led by local actors, incorporating local and indigenous knowledge wherever possible. Projects should be designed in such a way that they allow both the preservation of the natural life-support systems and the sustainable use of resources and land. “Otherwise, this can easily lead to new social tensions and conflicts,” explains Aletta Bonn, Head of the Department of Biodiversity and People at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Leipzig, professor at the University of Jena as part of iDiv, and co-author of the report section. In order to simultaneously strengthen intergovernmental or local cooperation and young people's societal responsibility, the WBGU recommends giving the 'ecological and social year' equal status to military service. “Environmental protection that contributes to security requires broad engagement from civil society,” says Bonn. 

The report section 'Environment shapes security' is the first chapter of the flagship report 'Security – sustainable and integrated', the WBGU's current work-in-progress. In view of the dynamic debates on security policy, the Advisory Council has decided to publish individual chapters in advance. An initial Situation report providing an overview of the flagship report's overall concept was published in March this year; further report sections will follow in the coming months.