Climate change poses a growing threat to security in Germany and Europe. According to the first National Interdisciplinary Climate Risk Assessment (NiKE), extreme weather events such as heatwaves, droughts and floods will occur more frequently in the future – even in regions that were previously safe. The climate crisis could also exacerbate political, economic and social tensions by 2040.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock emphasised the security policy dimension of climate protection: ‘Climate protection is hard security and geopolitics.’ The assessment was compiled as part of the National Security Strategy by an independent consortium including the Bundeswehr University Munich, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and the Federal Intelligence Service (BND).
The BND categorises climate change as one of the five greatest threats to Germany – alongside Russia’s expansion, China’s striving for global power, cyber threats and international terrorism.
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