‘Climate General’ Tom Midentorpe: ‘Climate change leads to friction’
Climate change is not just an environmental problem, it is pervasive in many fields. Former General Tom Middendorp is concerned about its effects on security and security services. ‘For example, in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the climatic context plays a key role, which can have huge consequences.’ He wrote a book about this called Climate General.
‘Every year we break new records, rising temperatures, natural disasters, floods,’ says Miedentorp. “It simply came to our notice then. So it goes fast, and it turns society upside down a bit. For example, it leads to more drought and infertility, which means people who have lived somewhere for years or centuries are being driven out. ‘
A world without polar caps
‘Climate change does not necessarily lead to security risks, but by definition change leads to friction, so it can also provide meaning for conflict.’ He mentions the melting of polar caps. ‘There will be periods of no snow in fifteen years. That whole area is accessible, and there are many raw materials. Countries like the US, Russia and China all want to get those raw materials, which creates a new competition. He also hopes that it will lead to a whole new trade route across the North. ‘They all make a difference in geopolitics.’
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Presumably, climate change will change the power balance. Middendorp tightens energy transfer. ‘Of course we’re good at reducing emissions, but by the time we become energy independent, we may be less worried about Putin’s policy on gas pipelines. At the same time, it affects the economic and dominance of countries that rely on fossil fuel revenues such as Russia and the OPEC. And a corner cat makes weird jumps. ‘
Time for action
Through his book Midentorp, he wants to make people realize that this is ‘probably too big’. The one who changes the game In the defense of this century, too. ‘ He is already one step ahead. ‘Every day around the world, I meet people who feel the impact on their security work. We have begun to integrate these into a global network. To connect those experts, we have set up a kind of nucleus of four research centers to bring everyone together. It also allows you to draw a global image. NATO and the EU are now embracing the theme and developing a policy on it. We now move on to the next step, namely: how should we adapt and how can we contribute to mitigating this problem? ‘
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