GMACCC Call for Action Presented at COP 21 Paris

Paris, 7 December 2015

In the time since the Global Military Advisory Council on Climate Change (GMACCC) issued its first Call for Action in 2009 at Copenhagen COP 15, the view that the military should have a key role in preparation and response mechanisms to combat the impacts of climate change has grown into a needed reality. Defense forces around the world increasingly need to integrate with all stakeholders in mitigating potential climate related conflict situations. It is within this context that the military, equipped with the best science, should have as its mission to identify risk areas and prepare responses to meet climate related challenges to global stability.

The GMACCC Call for Action 2015 was presented on at the COP 21 Paris on Monday 7 December during an IES / GMACCC event at the Netherlands pavilion. 

The Call emphasises the need to adapt to climate stress points with the military as a key contributor to climate preparedness in the wider community of diplomats, development experts, intelligence experts and academics. High levels of global cooperation are needed to help mitigate risks to national and international stability from resource scarcity, extreme weather events, migration, disease, sea level rise and other threats to human security.

The event presentations included:

- Presentation of GMACCC Second Call for Action - Major General (ret) A N M Muniruzzaman, GMACCC Chairman, Bangladesh

- The Climate and Security Concept Matures - Tom Spencer, Vice Chairman, GMACCC / Former Chairman EP Foreign Affairs Committee, United Kingdom

- The Need for Speed: Fast Action Strategies to Slow Near-Term Warming - Durwood Zaelke, President, Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, United States