NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg today (17 September 2020) participated in a seminar at NATO Headquarters in Brussels entitled ‘NATO and Nature, a changing climate: why the environment matters to NATO, and what to do about it.’ The event discussing security and the environment was jointly organized by the delegations of Italy and the United Kingdom.
The Secretary General was joined via video conference by François Bausch, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of Luxembourg, Stefano Sannino from the European External Action Service, Josefa Sacko from the African Union, and Nick Bridge, the UK Foreign Secretary’s Special Representative for Climate Change. Members of the North Atlantic Council and experts in climate security also joined the discussion.
NATO Allies agree on the need to adapt to future threats and challenges over the next decade and beyond, issues that are part of the Secretary General’s NATO 2030 reflection process. Climate change is already addressed by the Alliance in its 2010 strategic concept, which highlights it as one of the factors that will “shape the future security environment in areas of concern to NATO and have the potential to significantly affect NATO planning and operations”.
The seminar highlighted the importance of cooperation between NATO and other international organisations, including the European Union, the United Nations, and the African Union.