3 Feb 2026
Environment and security
At a time when US president Donald Trump is desperately denying the reality of climate change and promoting fossil fuels it’s refreshing to see an honest environmental assessment from another major country. Late last year the United States released its 2025 National Security Strategy. It does not use the word environment at all, dismisses climate change and calls for “…American energy dominance (in oil, gas, coal, and nuclear)…”
More recently the United Kingdom released a national security assessment on the environmental future that paints a grim but realistic picture. The paper, Global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security, says global ecosystem degradation poses threats to food security, economic stability and international security.
Among its statements:
“Cascading risks of ecosystem degradation are likely to include geopolitical instability, economic insecurity, conflict, migration and increased inter-state competition for resources.”
“Ecosystem degradation is occurring across all regions. Every critical ecosystem is on a pathway to collapse.”
“All countries are exposed to the risks of ecosystem collapse within and beyond their borders.”
The UK report calls climate change a threat to ecosystems and to food security, and says it is important to meet goals to reduce climate changing pollution.
Ironically it is the British report, citing an earlier American report, that points out how a more erratic climate is driving migration from Central America towards the United States. A flood of Latin American migrants into the United States has created one of the most divisive issues in that country’s recent history.
The US report focuses on controlling the hemisphere and making money. It is written as if the economy can magically continue despite an environment that is falling apart.
One report worries about the impact of environmental decline on future generations. The other ignores the issue.