Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
slumber, pushed by Denmark and others into a more proactive role. Denmark has
resisted any pressure to have NATO involved, with the argument that this
'
would
create a security problem where none currently exists
. The main Danish base in
Greenland has indeed been built up and Denmark is sending and equipping more
military frigates for the Arctic. But the government insists this is to cover coast-
guard search and rescue functions and also to prepare for new economic opportu-
nities in the region
'
with Danish registered ships carrying 10 per cent of global
shipping, the opening of new trade routes is seen as a potential advantage.
If the Northwest Passage opens up, a crucial question will be who is responsible
for policing the new route. Rejecting a defence-led strategy, the EU has proposed
a shared governance approach to the Arctic, rather than support Canada
-
'
s claim to
-
police the new route
even if, as mentioned, some now see it as backtracking
somewhat from this position. Arguably, the EU has not approached its relations
with Iceland in a
er-
ences. Critics accuse the EU of simply trying to justify a role for itself in the
Arctic, thinking its own rules can serve as a model for its management, when
Russia, China and other powers are aiming to gain control
'
hard security
'
sense either, immersed in detailed
nancial di
in a much more
directly political sense.
45
Conclusion
The military has the potential to act either as a powerful catalyst for a serious cli-
mate security strategy or to complicate progress. Earth Security Initiative director
Alejandro Litovsky writes that,
'
When the military talks climate change, everyone
listens
win gain for
both security and environmental communities, or if badly handled to an unneces-
sary escalation of instability on the back of climate change policies.
46
This chapter
reports that the policy evidence suggests the jury is still out on this question.
Policy-makers agree that there has been progress in getting the military to
'
; he argues that this new interest could either lead to a win
-
'
think
green
but that similar advances have not been forthcoming in how climate change
relates to broadened de
'
nitions of security.
The military focus is most strongly focused on the armed forces
'
own energy
consumption and how to run operations in climate-stressed environments. E
orts
have been more halting to go beyond
. European militaries are
more geared towards dealing with extreme weather events than they are seized of
the broader climate-engendered changes to geopolitics. Moreover, on their own
admission militaries still think in terms of the
'
green procurement
'
to be defen-
ded against climate change, not the broader impact on human security
'
national state interests
'
-
and not
the need proactively to address the root causes of individuals
rights and livelihoods.
The argument that governments and militaries have used climate security as a
'
