Minister of State for Defence Procurement (): Defence is already being
impacted by climate change. We must face the reality of operating
in a changing world and adapt accordingly. In doing so, we will
need to preserve our capabilities and operational advantage.
Against this backdrop. I launched the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD)
Climate Change and Sustainability (CC&S) Strategic Approach,
in March 2021, to build on existing work and to form the basis of
our response. Defence has made substantial progress in delivering
the Approach’s initial action plan. In the last year we have:
- Commenced the process of expanding our force development
scenarios to capture the dynamic nature of the environment in
which we will operate in the future to ensure maintenance of our
Operational Capability.
- Engaged with Allies and Partners to build a shared
understanding, exchanged methods and approaches to response to
how climate change is reshaping the global security landscape.
- Developed a Sustainable Support Strategy to reduce the
vulnerability of UK Defence whilst maintaining or improving our
capability, productivity and efficiency. This includes six
specific initiatives on: operational self-sustainment, resilience
of the supply chain, reducing the lifetime impact of defence
commodities and an Operational Energy and Fuel strategy on how we
power our ships, aircraft and vehicles in the future.
- Established a Defence Suppliers Forum CC&S Steering Group
to build a common understanding with Industry partners of the
scale and approach to our collective decarbonisation challenge.
- Updated our Built Estate policy and standards for new builds
to a higher standard of energy efficiency mitigating future
energy cost and resulting in lower carbon emissions.
- Commenced the next phase of the development of a natural
capital asset register for the Rural Estate, development of a
woodland masterplan and work with our tenant farmers through the
DEFRA Environmental Land Management Scheme.
- Appointed a Director of Climate Change and Sustainability to
coordinate activity and, drawing on expertise across the
Services, to drive delivery across Defence and a Non-Executive
Director for Sustainability to the Defence Safety and Environment
Committee to provide an external challenge on the delivery of our
Approach.
- Established a growing Network within Defence of over 1,000
members to help identify opportunities and embed our Sustainable
ambitions.
- Expanded the living lab concept exemplified at RAF Leeming to
test and prioritise de-carbonisation and wider sustainability
interventions as well as looking at the skills need.
This work now needs to be expanded to fully adapt how Defence
operates and if needs be, fights in the changing environment and
supports its capabilities. We have made a start on what needs to
be a systemic and ongoing campaign.
