The authors’ views are their own and do not represent the official position of the Institute of Defence

The United Kingdom initiated the first debate linking climate change and international peace and security at the UN Security Council in 2007, and Germany proposed the second one in 2011. [...] Second, the narrative that conceptualises climate change as a conflict multiplier underappreciates the experiences and interests of the countries that bear the brunt of climate change, which for them can be a matter of life and death. [...] Growing recognition of climate security risk and the alternate narrative of climate change as an existential threat constitute the basis for a regional discourse in the Asia-Pacific, although the resistance to bringing climate change to the security domain remains. [...] Among the priorities identified in the official defence documents of the industrialised countries and organisations, green defence issues such as the cutting of carbon emission and the strengthening of the adaptability and resilience of their forces and facilities rank highly, given their governments’ ambitions to champion global climate action. [...] While defence ministers from the Western countries emphasised greening their militaries, the Fijian defence minister noted that the defence establishments in the Pacific were building their capability to deal with the challenges posed by “cyclones, floods, viruses, and disinformation and misinformation.” Singapore: Potential to Lead Regional Climate Security Discourse Countries in the Asia-Pacific.