Future of Combat Considerations: Exploration of Medical, Tactical, and Moral Consequences of Climate Change
In a series of insightful webinars, Professor Tim Hodgetts, the Master General of the Army Medical Services and former Surgeon General of the UK Armed Forces, is leading a discussion on how climate change is reshaping the future of warfare.
The first part of the webinar series has already been completed and can be watched online. The second part is currently focusing on the preparation of military personnel for environmental extremes in operational settings. Part 3 of the webinar series will be available online in the future.
Professor Hodgetts brings decades of strategic and frontline experience to this discussion, having held senior NATO medical leadership roles. This session focuses on systems-level adaptation, operational readiness, and global security considerations.
Military operations are evolving to meet new threats such as extreme heat, rising sea levels, water scarcity, and shifting disease patterns due to climate change. Extreme environments are redefining logistics, soldier health, and medical readiness in military operations.
One of the key topics of discussion is the increasing role of humanitarian and disaster response as part of defence strategy. As climate change intensifies, military forces are being called upon to assist in disaster relief efforts, often in environments affected by both armed conflict and climate catastrophes.
The ethical implications and challenges to international humanitarian law (IHL) in future warfare due to climate change and extreme environments are also being discussed. Climate change creates conditions of extreme environmental degradation that may force populations to flee or prevent their return home. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has affirmed that, under international law principles like non-refoulement, states are ethically and legally obliged not to forcibly return individuals to environments where their lives and fundamental rights are at risk due to climate impacts.
The ICJ has declared climate change an urgent and existential threat, establishing that states have legal obligations under international environmental, human rights, and climate law frameworks to prevent significant harm to the climate system. These duties include due diligence, cooperation, and adaptation efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions rapidly and substantially. Failure to act may constitute internationally wrongful acts with potential legal consequences, reinforcing the ethical imperative for climate justice and accountability.
The ICJ characterized a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment as a fundamental human right that underpins all other human rights, highlighting that environmental degradation caused by climate change exacerbates vulnerabilities in conflict and complicates the protection of civilians under IHL.
Future warfare occurring in harsh, shifting environmental conditions presents operational and ethical challenges for enforcing IHL norms designed for more stable environments. This includes safeguarding civilian populations affected by both armed conflict and climate catastrophes, protecting infrastructure, ensuring humanitarian access, and addressing climate-induced displacement alongside conflict-induced displacement.
The ICJ emphasized intergenerational equity, underscoring an ethical duty to consider impacts on future generations and the need for enhanced international cooperation, relevant for cross-border armed conflicts and environmental harm affecting shared resources or populations.
In summary, climate change intensifies ethical responsibilities and legal challenges for international humanitarian law by increasing displacement risks, complicating protection obligations, demanding states’ active prevention of environmental harm, and requiring the evolution of IHL principles and enforcement mechanisms to operate effectively in extreme environments and multifaceted crises. This necessitates integrated legal frameworks and cooperative global action to uphold humanitarian and human rights protections in future conflict scenarios impacted by climate change.
The webinar series is an important step towards understanding and addressing these complex issues. The next session, focusing on the preparation of military personnel for environmental extremes in operational settings, is not to be missed. Stay tuned for Part 2 of the 3-part series.
- Climate change is redefining the future of warfare, with a focus on how military personnel can prepare for environmental extremes in operational settings, as discussed in the second part of the webinar series led by Professor Tim Hodgetts.
- As the ICJ has affirmed, states have legal obligations under international law to prevent significant harm to the climate system and ensure a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, which is recognized as a fundamental human right.
- In the webinar series, ethics and leadership are matters of importance, as Professor Hodgetts addresses ethical implications and challenges to international humanitarian law (IHL) in future conflict scenarios impacted by climate change.
- The evolving military operations due to climate change necessitate the collaboration between environmental science, climate science, finance, energy, and the industry to address logistical and health challenges in extreme environments, as well as prepare military personnel for the future.
