Future Warfare Implications: Exploring Medical, Tactical, and Moral Consequences of Climate Change in Warfare
In a series of informative webinars, the military is addressing the pressing issue of climate change and its impact on military operations. Part 3 of the series is now available to watch, featuring Professor Tim Hodgetts, the Master General of the Army Medical Services and former Surgeon General of the UK Armed Forces.
The discussion focuses on the reshaping of future warfare due to climate change. Extreme environments, such as those influenced by rising sea levels, extreme heat, and water scarcity, are becoming new threats in military operations. These environments are not only impacting logistics and soldier health but also medical readiness.
The conversation also addresses operational readiness and the growing risk of climate-driven conflict and competition over critical resources. The increasing role of humanitarian and disaster response is part of the defense strategy in future military operations.
Professor Hodgetts brings decades of strategic and frontline experience to this discussion. He is also exploring ethical implications and challenges to international humanitarian law (IHL) in future warfare due to climate change and extreme environments.
New forms of human displacement, environmental damage, and operational constraints that intensify protection obligations under IHL and related legal frameworks are at the heart of these ethical implications. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has recognized that states have a legal obligation under international law to avoid returning people to life-threatening conditions caused by climate impacts.
The ICJ’s 2025 advisory opinion also emphasized that states must protect the environment from greenhouse gas emissions and ensure a sustainable environment, which is essential for the enjoyment of many human rights. This ruling integrates environmental protection obligations into human rights and humanitarian law contexts, implying that warfare in extreme and climate-damaged environments requires heightened due diligence to avoid worsening harm.
States breaching climate obligations may face legal responsibility to cease harmful conduct and provide reparations. This legal framework may extend to conduct during armed conflict that exacerbates environmental degradation or ignores climate-induced vulnerabilities.
Warfare in increasingly extreme environments poses challenges for compliance with IHL principles such as distinction, proportionality, and precaution. These environments exacerbate civilian vulnerability and complicate protections, demanding adaptation of humanitarian law to new environmental realities, including preventing forced displacement and ensuring access to aid under deteriorated environmental conditions.
Commanders and states face ethical dilemmas in balancing military objectives with the imperative to minimize environmental harm that has transboundary and long-term humanitarian consequences exacerbated by climate change.
The webinar series is exploring the preparation of military personnel for environmental extremes in operational settings. If you haven't already, be sure to catch up on Part 1, which is also available to watch. Stay informed and stay prepared for the challenges ahead.
- The reshaping of future warfare is being discussed due to the impact of climate change, particularly in extreme environments like those with rising sea levels, extreme heat, and water scarcity.
- The growing risk of climate-driven conflicts and competition over critical resources is addressed as part of the defense strategy in future military operations.
- The increasing role of humanitarian and disaster response is integral to the defense strategy in future military operations, considering the new threats posed by extreme environments.
- In warfare, compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL) principles such as distinction, proportionality, and precaution is becoming challenging in increasingly extreme environments due to climate change.
