Reflections on the UK Defence and Climate Change Report

Aug 18, 2023 | Linsey Cottrell
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The UK House of Commons Defence Committee has released the Defence and Climate Change report, following their inquiry launched in May 2022. The report found that the UK MoD can ‘do much more to measure and reduce its carbon emissions, without eroding military capacity’.

There are a number of recommendations that set out the need for improvements across the UK MoD in terms of GHG emission reductions. Critically, the report highlights that the Greening Government Commitments (GGC) set for the UK MoD are ‘insufficiently demanding’, and require revision since the current targets can be met by relying on decarbonisation of the National Grid alone.

There are missed opportunities for further recommendations in the report. This includes a consideration of changes in overseas deployment or military security strategy to reduce emissions.