As NATO Countries Pledge to Up Defense Spending, Will Food and Climate Security Have a Seat at the Table?
By Siena Cicarelli and Tom Ellison
This summer marks a critical juncture for European food and climate security. Before heading off on their summer holidays, leaders will attempt to navigate burgeoning crises in the Middle East, an unpredictable US government, growing defense needs, and an unstable global economy.
Several key political decision points are unfolding this summer, starting with this week’s NATO Summit, where a number of member state leaders committed to a new defense and security spending target of 5 percent of GDP by 2035, which, if implemented by the target date, could entail roughly hundreds of billions of dollars in new spending. However, given that the text of the commitment changed from “all Allies” to just “Allies,” in the final hours of negotiations, commitments will likely vary by member state. Furthermore, given the current combination of budget deficits, national politics, and a collective shift towards “competitiveness,” the European Union risks falling prey to false dichotomies and short-termism, placing climate and food security priorities essential to sustainable security on the back burner in favor of “hard” security goals. While 1.5% GDP of the new spending target can come from non-defense resilience, infrastructure, and civil preparedness spending, food and climate security were not prominent at the NATO Summit.
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Energy Transitions and Ecological Security Risks
By Chloé Prendleloup, Ecological Security Fellow
Military Response to Climate Hazards (MiRCH) Tracker: February-May 2025 Update
From February to May 2025, militaries deployed 42 times in 20 countries to address climate change hazards, primarily to fight wildfires and respond to extreme precipitation and flooding. Deployment after deployment, political and military leaders have noted the historic and unprecedented nature of the hazards. Many military actors deployed multiple times in the same geography during these four months. During the same time period, some militaries have dedicated training hours to preparation for summer hazards, including through interagency and cross-government coordination efforts.
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