Ed Miliband stated to The Guardian that climate action now intersects directly with national security, noting that events previously confined to science fiction frequently appear in current news.
The national security of all countries faces severe risks from the climate crisis, as extreme economic shocks from fossil fuels become the norm rather than the exception. The UK’s foreign secretary issued the warning to world leaders gathered in Antalya for the Cop31 UN climate summit, pointing to rapid planetary heating that drives food shortages, widespread economic disruption, migration, and conflict.
Climate Breakdown Threatens Infrastructure
According to Miliband, humanity must now confront the outcomes of a thirty-year failure to adequately reduce carbon emissions. He told audiences at Cop31 that the climate breakdown represents a disaster for people and the planet with implications the international community must reckon with.
“Food security, threats to infrastructure, and population movements are resulting from the climate crisis,” Miliband told The Guardian.
He said that global heating will now inevitably overshoot 1.5C above preindustrial levels. Temperatures have exceeded that level for two years and are unlikely to subside, requiring stronger policies to prevent accelerated heating.
Global Fossil Fuel Shocks
Fossil fuel shocks, such as soaring oil prices seen after the start of the Iran war, have led to rampant inflation and interest rate rises from central banks attempting to control it. Miliband said that a new era of global insecurity means fossil fuel shocks are the norm.
“First Russia, now Iran, next others, have identified global chokepoints and systemic overreliance and the vulnerability of countries around the world that they expose,” Miliband told The Guardian.
He called for more investment in clean energy, efforts to use it for transport and heating, urgent action to cut methane, and the protection and expansion of forests. Miliband also issued a veiled swipe at the Conservatives and Reform UK, warning that those who seek to stick their heads in the sand on climate are putting national security at risk.
Miliband Attends Cop31 Summit in Turkey
Miliband arrived in Turkey for the two-day leaders’ summit segment of the fortnight-long Cop31 talks. The summit opened with speeches by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, UN Secretary General António Guterres, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
Notable absences from the gathering included key global leaders such as India’s Narendra Modi, China’s Xi Jinping, Germany’s Friedrich Merz, and France’s Emmanuel Macron. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen attended the meetings.
Common Questions About Climate Security
Why is climate change considered a national security threat?
Rapid planetary heating leads directly to food shortages, infrastructure vulnerabilities, forced population movements, and international conflict, according to UK Ed Miliband.
What temperature threshold has already been breached?
Global heating has exceeded 1.5C above preindustrial levels for two years, making an overshoot inevitable, Miliband reported at the Cop31 summit.
Which world leaders opened the Cop31 summit in Turkey?
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan opened the leaders’ segment alongside UN Secretary General António Guterres.
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