The Resilience Brief

Aviation fuel emissions have been an enduring issue for air forces in the fight for climate resilience. However, with developments in Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) driven by mandates, what else is on the radar for air operations? Continuing with our domain focused sub-series, episode 7 of The Resilience Brief podcast pivots to the air domain, to discuss the challenges and potential solution that are fuelling air force activity. NATO air forces are increasingly integrating Sustainable Aviation Fuel to propel their aircraft in the search for sustainability. But emissions alone should not dominate climate conversations within the air domain. Hosts Dr Sarah Ashbridge and Lieutenant Colonel Ali Beard invite two guests who can shed light on wider priorities, challenges and success stories. Group Captain Maurice Dixon and Honorary Group Captain Kevin Billings dial in to tell us how specific environments affect air platforms and planning, sharing insights around the tyranny of distance, generating urgency, and human-off-the-loop potential. There are even important whole-force insights around how the SAF mandate is driving fuel interoperability within air forces specifically. Tune in to find out more. The views of all speakers represent their own opinions based on their individual experiences. All views belong to the individual speakers and do not reflect the official position of their employers or the IMCCS This podcast has been created thanks to the sponsorship and partnership of Frazer-Nash and the NATO Climate Change and Security Centre of Excellence (CCASCOE). This product has also been enabled by the production services of Two Jacks Communications and project management services of S A Consultancy (Yorkshire). Resources recommended by Episode 8 guest speakers: Ivo Andrić (1977). The Bridge Over the River Drina. Chicago: Chicago University Press. Rear Admiral Neil Moraisetti. Lieutenant General Richard Nugee CB CVO CBE whose work informed the development of UK MOD (2021). Climate Change and Sustainability Strategic Approach. Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston KCB CBE ADC. Global Air Force Climate Change Collaboration. Erin Sikorsky (2025). Climate Change on the Battlefield: International Military Responses to the Climate Crisis. London: Bloomsbury Academic. Gwynne Dyer (2010). Climate Wars. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. MOD UK (2018). Global Strategic Trends – The Future Starts Today. Nik Gowing and Chris Langdon (2018). Thinking the Unthinkable: A new imperative for leadership in the digital age. Melton: John Catt Educational Ltd.      

Like land forces, navies are faced with the breadth and scale of climate related risks, so how is climate science informing conversations around maritime platforms and the future demands upon naval services? Our sub-series on domain specific risks continues with episode 6, which focuses on the unique threats and challenges for naval operations. What are the unique threats presented by a changing maritime environment, and how do these changes affect platforms? How are different navies responding to the increasing number of requests for humanitarian aid and disaster relief (HADR) services? Special guests Lisa Hammock (Royal Navy) and Arnaud Boehmann (independent analyst) join hosts Dr Sarah Ashbridge and Lieutenant Colonel Ali Beard to discuss key challenges and the importance of narratives to support strategic direction in the naval sphere. Our guests introduce us to projects from within NATO, such as the UK Royal Navy's work to explore the refuelling of a carrier strike group deployment, or the NATO Defence College Rome's modelling of future oceans; but also highlight lessons from allied partners such as Brazil and Indonesia. Intrigued? Tune in to find out more. Clarification: In this discussion, "multi-role" refers to a medical ship's ability to provide a range of medical services. It should not be interpreted as "dual-use" in an operational and humanitarian sense. In an Article V scenario, medical ships cannot be simultaneously deployed for both operational and humanitarian missions. The views of all speakers represent their own opinions based on their individual experiences. All views belong to the individual speakers and do not reflect the official position of their employers or the IMCCS This podcast has been created thanks to the sponsorship and partnership of Frazer-Nash and the NATO Climate Change and Security Centre of Excellence (CCASCOE). This product has also been enabled by the production services of Two Jacks Communications and project management services of S A Consultancy (Yorkshire). Resources recommended by Episode 6 guest speakers:  -            German Advisory Council on Global Change (2007). 'Climate Change as a Security Risk.' -            Andrea Gilli and Mauro Gilli (2025). 'The hunt for Red October in warmer oceans – Climate change and anti-submarine warfare.' NATO Defense College [outlook article], 19 March. Available online: https://www.ndc.nato.int/the-hunt-for-red-october-in-warmer-oceans-climate-change-and-anti-submarine-warfare/ -            David J. C. MacKay (2008). Sustainable Energy – Without the hot air. Cambridge: UIT. -            Stuart Goldsmith – Climate comedian: https://www.stuartgoldsmith.com/ -            Laurie Laybourn. 'Overshoot: Navigating a world beyond 1.5°C' podcast: https://www.overshootpod.com/

The threat of climate change on global security means it is an area where Armed Forces must pay increasing attention. But with the challenge varying across domains, how does has it manifested into operational risks for land forces and how are they mitigating them? The first four episodes of The Resilience Brief set the scene, introducing the concept of climate change within Defence and identifying risks. But how is the challenge being tackled by various Armed Forces? This episode marks the first in a new sub-section of the podcast, exploring key trends, challenges and opportunities across the individual domains of land, maritime, and air, before concluding with an episode on Multi-Domain Operations (MDO). Guest speakers, Brigadier Tim Symonds (British Army) and Swathi Veeravalli (General Resilience Solutions), join hosts Dr Sarah Ashbridge and Lieutenant Colonel Ali Beard for a dynamic conversation, discussing the key operational themes including readiness, resupply, endurance, resource demand and power projection. How can land forces prioritise eco-initiatives when there is no readily identifiable, physical enemy on which to focus efforts? Tune in to find out more. The views of all speakers represent their own opinions based on their individual experiences. All views belong to the individual speakers and do not reflect the official position of their employers or the IMCCS This podcast has been created thanks to the sponsorship and partnership of Frazer-Nash and the NATO Climate Change and Security Centre of Excellence (CCASCOE). This product has also been enabled by the production services of Two Jacks Communications and project management services of S A Consultancy (Yorkshire). Resources recommended by Episode 5 guest speakers: ·       Weathering Risk partnership between the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Adelphi website, and associated report: Metis Institute for Strategy and Foresight & Bundesnachrichtendienst, 2025, National Interdisciplinary Climate Risk Assessment. ·       Andrew Boyd (2025). I Want a Better Catastrophe: Navigating the Climate Crisis with Grief, Hope, and Gallows Humor. New Society Publishers: British Columbia. ·       Matthew Winning (2021). Hot Mess: What on earth can we do about climate change? London: Headline Publishing Group. ·       Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl). ·       Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. ·       On the first hydrogen powered tank: Christopher McFadden (2024). 'Hyundai unveils world's first hydrogen-powered, silent stealth battle tank.' Interesting Engineering (28 October). ·       NATO Concept of Layered Resilience, described within: Rear Admiral John W. Tammen (2021). 'NATO's Warfighting Capstone Concept: anticipating the changing character of war.' NATO Review (9 July). ·       NATO Climate Change and Security Centre of Excellence. ·       Defence Energy and Capability Resilience Centre of Excellence, described within: UK MOD (2025). Defence Industrial Strategy: Making Defence an Engine for Growth. ·       Partnership between the Australian Defence Force and ARENA, described within: Carnegie Clean Energy (2020). 'Garden Island Microgrid ARENA Knowledge Sharing Report.'  

Defence has a tradition of short-termism when implementing climate related policies, routinely seeking to deprioritise resilience initiatives to overcome budgetary shortfalls. In this instance, Generals sight the likelihood of a significant climate related disaster as low while environmentalists might argue otherwise. Is there a trend of failing to recognise or plan appropriately and what are the unintended consequences of a worst-case scenario. Armed forces across the NATO Alliance are faced with the challenge of both adapting to modern conflict but also the need to resilience challenges caused by climate change. Financial pressures have created a tendency to plan against short-term disasters rather than plan for enduring climatic change. While this allows forces to prepare and react to events such as tsunamis, flooding, drought, and wildfires, it ultimately results in a lack of investment in organisational resilience and masks the potential impact of longer lasting scenarios such as desertification. In this episode, guests Dr Duraid Jalili (King's College London) and Dr Fanny Thornton (PIK Institute) reflect upon how climate related disasters increase global instability and and the associated risk of not preparing for these boundary agnostic catastrophes. Finally, they highlight the importance of climate understanding to Defence, outlining how militaries must draw on existing sources in academia and industry to better predict the risk. Join hosts Dr Sarah Ashbridge and Lt. Col. Ali Beard to find out more. The views of all speakers represent their own opinions based on their individual experiences. All views belong to the individual speakers and do not reflect the official position of their employers or the IMCCS This podcast has been created thanks to the sponsorship and partnership of Frazer-Nash and the NATO Climate Change and Security Centre of Excellence (CCASCOE). This product has also been enabled by the production services of Two Jacks Communications and project management services of S A Consultancy (Yorkshire). Resources recommended by Episode 4 guest speakers: -            Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac. 2020. The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. -            Thomas Homer-Dixon's defence commentary, full publishing record available online at: https://homerdixon.com/library/ -            Thor Hanson et al. 2009. "Warfare in Biodiversity Hotspots." Conservation Biology 23 (3): 578-587. -            Madeline Beattie et al. 2023. "Even After Armed Conflict, the Environmental Quality of Indigenous People's Lands in Biodiversity Hotspots Surpasses That of Non-Indigenous Lands." Biological Conservation 286. -            Strategic Command (UK). 2022. Sustainable Support Strategy. -            Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC). 2023. Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. -            Christophe Hodder – See Stockholm International Peace Research Institute profile and LinkedIn profile. -            Dr Richard Millburn MBE, staff profile available on the King's College London website: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/dr-richard-milburn -             Damon Centola et al. "Experimental Evidence for Tipping Points in Social Convention". Science 360. -            Volkerrechtsblog. 2025. 'Systemic Impacts and Structural Shifts: Climate Change and the Role of the ICJ Advisory Opinion'. Volkerrechtsblog: International Law and International Legal though [Symposia article]. -            Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Germany -            Adelphi Research, Germany -            E3G, UK and Belgium -            International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN), USA -            EcoPeace Middle East, Israel, Palestine, Jordan and USA -            Climate Change & (In)Security Project, University of Oxford and Centre for Historical Analysis and Conflict Research (CHACR)  

NATO define interoperability as "The ability to act together coherently, effectively and efficiently to achieve Allied objectives". But what does it mean to achieve, or even contribute to, interoperability to achieve wider resilience? The success of NATO operations often depends on the ability of forces to work together, often as part of a multinational alliance and routinely with civil-military partnerships, to achieve shared strategic goals. But what does it actually mean to be interoperable in the area of building environmental resilience? Where should armed forces lead, and where should they recognise the boundaries and limitations of military responsibility and seek to follow? In this episode, guests Justin Mohn (NATO/King's College London) and Katie Woodward (NATO Climate Change and Security Centre of Excellence) join The Resilience Brief hosts, to share their perspectives on the topic of interoperability, reflecting upon the value of a connected networks, the importance of passive horizon scanning, and the balance between responsibilities for the military and the role of knowledge integrators. Our guests also present their own pressing questions, such as 'when is the event circuit too much' and 'how do we know when we have achieved good enough with a capability?' Join Dr Sarah Ashbridge and Lieutenant Colonel Ali Beard for Episode 3 to find out more. The views of all speakers represent their own opinions and individual experiences. All views presented within this podcast series belong to the individual speakers and do not reflect the official position of their employers or the IMCCS This podcast has been created thanks to the sponsorship and partnership of Frazer-Nash and the NATO Climate Change and Security Centre of Excellence (CCASCOE). Resources recommended by Episode 3 guest speakers: -            Robert Forczyk (2013). Tank Warfare on the Eastern Front, 1941-42: Schwerpunkt. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military. -            Robert Forczyk (2016). Tank Warfare on the Eastern Front, 1943-1945: Red Steamroller. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Aviation. -            Ronald A. Kingham and Ashley McIlwain Moran (2025). Resilience, Readiness, and Response: Report of the project on Climate and Security Action through Civil-Military Cooperation in Climate-Related Emergencies (Project CASA). Brussels: The Environment and Development Resource Centre (EDRC).