Global Military Advisory Council on Climate Change (GMACCC)
Created in 2009 as a response to threats posed by climate change towards global security and peace GMACCC was created based on the initiative of the Institute for Environmental Security (IES). GMACCC is a global network of serving and retired military officers, and associated institutions, committed to highlighting the potential security implications of a changing climate and advocating action, including by the military, to minimize the risks. By calling upon the military to reduce their energy use GMACCC aims at achieving a reduction in their contribution to climate change.
Climate Action
GMACCC (co-)organizes events concerned with climate change and international security as well as publishes policy briefs to highlight the need for research or immediate action.
Featured Events
Climate and Security - Emerging Trends and Adaptive Strategies, Madrid, 11 December 2019
The event focused on current challenges and opportunities to address the climate-security nexus, local and regional approaches to tackle climate-security issues, and analyze climate conflict resolution approaches.
The Climate-Security Nexus: Implications For The Military, Brussels, 24 October 2019
The event was concerned with the multi-stakeholder and multi-level approach to raise awareness of the climate-security nexus and highlight the role of the defense community in assessing the risks to stability and peace, the role of civil-military cooperation in climate change mitigation and adaptation, and the role of state and non-state actors in addressing the implications of climate change for military personnel.
The Security Implication of Emerging Climate Altering Technologies, Brussels, 23 October 2019
The aim was to gather stakeholders from different backgrounds to achieve open exchange of ideas, raise awareness, and to contribute to policy developments concerning governing geoengineering from both a security and climate perspective.
Featured Publications
Reinforcing Environmental Dimensions of European Foreign and Security Policy, Brussels, January 2019
Paper on the environmental dimension of European security policy and security-related foreign policy, which further regards the integration of environmental concerns into the Sustainability Agenda 2030 - in collaboration with the BDCD.
Climate Change and Security in South Asia: Cooperating for Peace, The Hague, May 2016
South Asia is on the front line in confronting the implications of climate change and addressing the consequences for security. Climate change could undermine peace and security in South Asia - a region which is already politically unstable and particularly vulnerable to further impacts. Rising temperatures, floods and irregular rain patterns will hit particularly hard in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, and are expected to exacerbate livelihood insecurity in the region.
Climate Change & Security in Africa: Clear Risks, Nuanced Impacts, The Hague, December 2014
This paper addresses links between climate patterns and conflict in Africa in order to raise awareness of present and emerging climate-related risks in the region. The December 2014 publication focuses on climate-related stability factors in Mali, Darfur and South Sudan – including food security, migration. The key messages in this report include the point that because climate change does not impact conflict directly, policy responses can potentially prevent the adverse impact that climate change has on security outcomes like conflict. Government policies on food distribution, migration, land and water use, natural resource management, adaptation aid distribution, and any number of other issues impact how their populations experience climate change and thus the grievances that conflict actors may leverage to drive conflict.
Climate Change: Implications for Defence, Cambridge/The Hague, June 2014
This paper reviews the ways climate change is challenging global security and the role the military can play in addressing that challenge. The June 2014 publication is based closely on the Fifth Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a comprehensive and relevant analysis of our changing climate.