Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Greening the military
The European defence establishment has begun to demonstrate environmental
awareness by shifting away from fossil fuels to more sustainable sources and redu-
cing energy consumption. The arguments used are not purely about climate
change and environmental responsibility, but rather about national security. This
relates especially to tackling fuel dependence which is seen as increasingly expen-
sive and strategically undesirable. Many interesting
initiatives have
been supported. In June 2012 the European Defence Agency launched a Military
Green programme of procurement to coordinate the plethora of member state
plans in this area.
Britain
'
greening war
'
s ministry of defence is responsible for 1 per cent of UK carbon emis-
sions. It has in recent years stressed a commitment to reducing these emissions and
'
'
making war green
'
. In a 2011 strategy document covering this question, the
ministry insists that
nancial reasons why the MoD has
to strive to make its equipment environmentally robust throughout the lifecycle.
'
There are moral, legal and
33
Under UK legislation the MoD has a legal duty to ensure that its activities do not
cause environmental damage. The ministry perceives increased investment in low
carbon technologies as necessary to reduce the amount of fuel being taken to the
front line, which has become an ever-more costly, risky and logistically resource-
intensive supply-line impediment.
34
Neil Morisetti has argued:
'
Identifying ways to reduce our emissions also helps improve our operational
e
ciency in theatre
…
Transporting fuel puts additional lives in danger, and
greatly increases the
nancial cost of operation. Likewise, reducing the hull
friction of our warships has delivered improvements in fuel e
ciency.
35
The French defence ministry has invested nearly
10 million a year into research
designed to make its military equipment greener and more energy-e
€
cient.
36
The
ministry allocated
60 million in 2010 under its Environmental Action Plan for
Defence. Measures included the aim to have 80 warships awarded a
€
'
green pass-
port
'
by 2012 and 31 armament programmes comply with a series of eco-standards.
Spain
'
s Ministry of Defence has introduced a new Energy E
ciency and Savings
Plan which commits to reducing the military
'
s energy consumption by 20 per cent
by 2016.
37
27 million was forthcoming under this plan for a
range of military-related environmental projects. The ministry also supported a
new masters course on the environment, speci
In 2011, funding of
€
cally aimed at training personnel
across the three branches of the armed forces and the civil guard on climate change
debates.
38
