The UK’s Joint Intelligence Committee produced a classified report examining threats to national security posed by climate change and ecological breakdown worldwide. The assessment, initially commissioned under the previous government, identified risks including food supply disruptions within this decade, potential pandemics, international conflicts over resources, mass migration, and societal instability. Specific scenarios analyzed included collapse of the Amazon rainforest and degradation of the Congo Basin, which could severely impact UK food imports and trigger geopolitical instability.
The report was scheduled for release last October ahead of the Cop30 climate summit but was blocked by Downing Street officials at the final moment. Partial findings leaked to media outlets and a summary was eventually provided to a thinktank following Freedom of Information requests. The decision to suppress the full report drew criticism from parliamentarians and environmental advocates who argued it allowed ministers to avoid accountability for the identified security risks and the government’s reduction in climate and nature-focused international aid.
This week, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband briefed representatives from multiple countries, including EU nations, Kenya, and Australia, on the report’s key findings during a UN General Assembly meeting. While ministers received verbal summaries rather than full copies, the briefing represented an initial step toward international coordination on the identified threats. Accompanying this diplomatic initiative, the UK announced £330 million in funding for the Global Environment Fund and £400 million for Brazil’s Tropical Forests Forever Facility, signaling a shift in the government’s approach to nature protection in developing regions following earlier controversial cuts to international climate finance.
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