Episode 1: What Does Climate Change Mean for Defence? An Introduction

The UK Armed Forces are only at the start of their learning curve on green technologies, and though there have been many examples of innovation and positive change, these haven’t always been immediately visible to the many who still ask: ‘what does climate change mean for defence?’

In the first episode of Greening Defence, hosts Dr Sarah Ashbridge and Doug Weir (Conflict and Environment Observatory) discuss the range of ways in which climate change is affecting defence, and how the Ministry of Defence and UK Armed Forces have been working to respond to the challenges .

They are joined by James Clare (Director for Climate Change and Sustainability, Ministry of Defence) and Dr Stuart Parkinson (Scientists for Global Responsibility), who introduce some of the more prominent debates about how defence is working to respond to climate change – such as on carbon emissions, communication, renewable technologies, alternative fuels, the balance between leadership and innovation, and interoperability. James and Stuart effectively set the scene for the next three episodes of the Greening Defence podcast, which will explore the key themes of sustainability, technology and culture.