As the major international news focus of the day remains
on Syria and on Paris for the opening of the United Nations Conference of
Parties (COP) on the international Climate Change Convention, the most widely
read and probably politically influential British daily newspaper, The Sun, casts doubt on the link between
the two issues.
The Sun’s front
page story and ‘Sun Says’ comment (“Heir brained”) on 23 November belittled the
analysis put forward by Prince Charles - and singer and climate change
campaigner, Charlotte Church, earlier on BBC 1’s Question Time- that climate
change may have contributed to the troubles in Syria.
However, in June last year the Ministry of Defence
published a 200-page report, “Global Strategic Trends—Out to 2045”, produced by
the MOD’s Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre (DCDC), which describes in
detail a future context for defence and security up to 2045 warning that if
global temperatures continued to rise, the consequent droughts and food
shortages could trigger widespread social unrest. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/global-strategic-trends-out-to-2045)
In addition, in March this year, retired US Navy
Rear-Admiral David W. Titley an internationally known expert in the field of
climate, the Arctic, and National Security, and Founding Director of the Center
for Solutions to Weather and Climate Risk at Penn State University in America
(who served for 32 years in the US Navy) and while serving in the US Defense
Department headquarters at the Pentagon, initiated and led the US Navy’s Task
Force on Climate Change - major peer-reviewed study in March made a link
between climate change and the Syrian civil war.
His analysis explains how the droughts in Syria are
likely to be caused by accelerating climate change, which has led to more
people leaving rural areas and coming into the cities, adding to social unrest.
Moreover, the section on ‘Climate change and resource scarcity’ in
the Government’s National Security
Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/478936/52309_Cm_9161_NSS_SD_Review_PRINT_only.pdf)
published on 23
November, set out the following at paragraphs 3.42-3: “By 2030, the world could
face demands for 50% more food and energy and 30% more water, while their
availability becomes threatened by climate change. The Middle East and North
Africa region will be particularly at risk, given existing high levels of water
stress and high rates of population growth. Sub-Saharan Africa may suffer from
climate change impacts on crop production in particular. Rising sea levels
threaten coastal cities and small islands.
More frequent extreme
weather events are likely to disrupt populations, agriculture and supply chains,
making political instability, conflict and migration more likely. In contrast
to the West’s ageing populations, almost 50% of the world’s population is under
the age of 24, the vast majority in developing countries. This presents
opportunities in terms of potential for driving economic growth. But risks
include under-employment, an increase in existing resource stresses, greater
instability and migration pressures.”
Time warmongering, bombing
favouring MPs wised-up to a wider global reality.
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