Climate Change, Oil and the Armed Forces

A new report on climate change predicts the rising cost of oil may make it too costly for the armed forces to operate.

Ahead of the annual UN climate conference, experts are reiterating their belief that planetary changes will impact the availability of food and water in poorer countries, health, the provision of foreign goods and energy on which developed countries rely, and that humanitarian challenges will put more strain on military resources as a result of mass migration and civil conflict.

Not only that, the price and scarcity of oil will affect the ability of the armed forces to use the equipment necessary to do their work, whether it is in war or peace-keeping. They have been described as “the gas-guzzlers of the world”, and officers have said candidly that the quantities of oil they need to carry out operations often in remote parts of the world are becoming unaffordable.

As I read about this scenario I wondered about the values underpinning global attitudes to human life. I wrote yesterday about energy in terms of supply and acquiescent dependency, and my thoughts today are about a precious gift from Gaia (oil but also our seas and forests and minerals) being prioritised to be used to uphold foreign trade in consumer goods, and war. Imagine how it would be if there was no war, anywhere, if all the resources spent on a disbanded military were invested back in the national community, if we all lived a little more simply, and if the culture of dependency ended?

Imagine it. That is our opportunity, and if we do not take it, soon, the new reality of life which is, in fact, inevitable, will occur anyway but less comfortably. Hopefully the more the experts highlight the impact of climate change on oil prices  and on our world, the sooner the deeper, values-based issues will be addressed publicly – but I am not holding my breath.