03 Jul UK’s 2025 Security Strategy: Climate Risks Undermined

UK’s 2025 Security Strategy: Is the UK Ready for Climate Change?

The UK’s 2025 National Security Strategy sets out the government’s approach to addressing growing global threats. Among these, climate change is highlighted as a significant risk to national security, but the strategy stops short of addressing crucial gaps in climate adaptation. This leaves key sectors vulnerable to the impacts of climate-related disruptions.

Climate adaptation in national security involves taking actions to protect infrastructure, public health, and the economy from climate change impacts. It’s about preparing for environmental shifts like extreme weather, rising sea levels, and resource shortages. The failure to address adaptation leaves the UK exposed to long-term environmental risks.

In this article, we’ll explore how the UK’s 2025 strategy acknowledges climate change while not emphasising the need for effective adaptation. We’ll examine why this seeming oversight threatens the country’s future security and what needs to be done to ensure resilience in the face of growing climate risks.

The Ambiguous Approach to Climate Change in National Security

The UK’s 2025 National Security Strategy places climate change within a broad category of transnational challenges, which includes economic stagnation, pandemics, and demographic shifts. However, it fails to clearly address how the UK will adapt to the specific threats posed by climate change. For example, while it acknowledges threats to food security and supply chains, there are no new concrete actions proposed to reinforce these vulnerable sectors.

The strategy also presents climate change as both a current crisis and a future risk, but lacks a clear roadmap for immediate action. The document cites potential disruptions like extreme weather events and ecosystem collapse, yet does not detail how the UK will build resilience in key sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, and infrastructure. This lack of adaptation planning leaves these sectors unprepared for future climate shocks.

The strategy does recognize the issue of migration due to climate-induced factors, which may cause increased displacement. However, it does not elaborate on how the UK plans to address the security challenges posed by this type of migration, especially from the Global South. The lack of a comprehensive plan for climate-induced migration further exposes the vulnerability of the UK’s national security to global climate risks.

The Impact of Climate Change on Security Sectors

The National Security Strategy does highlight some of the indirect security threats posed by climate change, such as economic instability, resource competition, and public health risks. However, it does not address the direct impacts climate change will have on military and defense sectors, which are key to national security. As extreme weather events become more frequent, the UK’s military readiness and operational capacity could be impacted by climate-related disruptions.

Additionally, the UK’s National Infrastructure Commission and Climate Change Committee have pointed out that the country is woefully underprepared for the anticipated effects of climate change. The strategy’s lack of reference to these expert recommendations is troubling. Without specific adaptation measures, vital infrastructure such as roads, electricity grids, and water systems will remain vulnerable to flooding, heatwaves, and other climate-induced events.

Furthermore, climate change could exacerbate existing security threats, such as the risk of conflict over water resources or food shortages. These types of disruptions are expected to become more common as climate change continues to affect global supply chains. By failing to address climate change adaptation within its national security framework, the UK risks leaving itself exposed to these cascading security threats.

The absence of a cohesive policy integrating both climate change mitigation and adaptation with national security efforts is a significant gap in the strategy. To safeguard the UK’s future, it is essential to recognize climate change as a multi-dimensional security threat, one that requires a more coordinated approach across government departments. This includes ensuring that the Ministry of Defense, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, and the Home Office collaborate to address both the direct and indirect effects of climate change on the nation’s security.

The Role of the Climate Change Committee and the National Infrastructure Commission

Experts from the Climate Change Committee (CCC) and the National Infrastructure Commission have long been warning the UK government about the need for comprehensive climate adaptation strategies. These bodies have stressed that the UK’s current approach is insufficient to protect key sectors like agriculture, supply chains, and public health. Despite their recommendations, the 2025 National Security Strategy does not take these concerns into account.

In their 2025 report, the CCC reiterated that the UK is lacking in the necessary adaptation measures. These include steps to protect critical infrastructure from extreme weather events and rising sea levels. The CCC’s report highlights the urgency of integrating adaptation measures into national security and resilience planning. The failure of the UK Government to address these gaps in the security strategy may leave the country exposed to an increasingly volatile climate future.

Shaping a Resilient Security Future for the UK

To build a resilient future, the UK must prioritize climate adaptation alongside defense and national security. Climate change should be considered a direct threat to national security, not just an environmental issue. This includes addressing the risks to critical infrastructure, public services, and supply chains that could be overwhelmed by the impacts of climate change. The UK’s national security framework must include actionable measures to prepare for extreme weather, rising sea levels, and other climate-related disruptions.

Moreover, adaptation efforts should extend beyond infrastructure updates to include public health systems, emergency response strategies, and security sector preparedness. For example, the UK military must be equipped to respond to climate-induced emergencies, while public health systems should be ready to handle climate-related diseases and displacement.

A robust security strategy must ensure that the UK is not only mitigating its environmental impact but also adapting to the changes that are already occurring. The government must take action to integrate climate adaptation into every aspect of its national security planning. This includes enhancing the UK’s infrastructure, healthcare, and military sectors to better withstand the impacts of climate change. A failure to address these vulnerabilities would jeopardize both national security and public safety in the long term.

Strengthening Security through Climate Resilience

The UK’s 2025 National Security Strategy marks an important recognition of climate change as a critical threat to national security. However, the strategy falls short in addressing the full extent of climate risks that the country faces. While it acknowledges the challenges, it lacks a comprehensive plan for how the UK will adapt to these growing environmental threats.

For the UK to truly secure its future, climate adaptation must be seamlessly integrated into its national security policies. This is not just about protecting infrastructure; it’s about ensuring that every sector, from public health to defense, is equipped to handle the escalating impacts of climate change.

Without a clear strategy for resilience, the UK risks being unprepared for the environmental challenges that lie ahead. By acting now to strengthen its approach, the government can ensure a safer, more resilient future, one that is prepared for both the known and the unknown risks of a rapidly changing world.

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