Decarbonization in the Defense Sector: European Defense Sector’s Effort Toward Climate Mitigation
AKIMOTO Shigeki
Summary
Response measures to climate change generally fall into two types of actions: (1) actions to prepare for and respond to current and projected future impacts of climate change (climate adaptation) and (2) actions to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and absorb GHG (climate mitigation). Among these measures, climate mitigation in the defense sector faces a fundamental problem in that it is difficult for the military to reduce GHG emissions without reducing its operational capabilities with current technology, as its operations rely on fossil fuels that emit large amounts of GHG. The situation is compounded by problems unique to the defense sector, such as the lack of incentives for the military to disclose GHG emissions data from an information security perspective, and the complications of sharing the costs associated with GHG emissions reduction in the defense sector, which is characterized by a complex supply chain. In the defense sector, where these problems are complexly intertwined, structural problems discourage decarbonization investments by the military and defense companies.
To gain insight into how to solve these complexly intertwined problems, this paper examined climate mitigation initiatives in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a European political and military alliance that is regarded as active in combating climate change, and the European Union (EU), a political and economic union that embraces cooperation in the security sector. These initiatives were examined from four perspectives: (1) political consensus and appropriate target setting for long-term initiatives; (2) public support to the development of decarbonization technologies in the defense sector, where private initiative alone is not sufficient or appropriate; (3) information sharing as the basis for cost sharing; and (4) coordination and control functions among policies and stakeholders to respond to changing circumstances.
Although a strong political consensus has been built and maintained within NATO and information sharing efforts have been deployed, significant progress in climate mitigation is unlikely to be made within the NATO framework due to ambiguity in target setting and inadequate coordination and control functions. In contrast, in the EU, appropriate targets have been set for the military and defense companies that comprise the defense sector, and that the EU leadership is working to mobilize various policies, including the progressive development of various institutions to help defense sector achieve its targets and the appropriate management of EU funding to develop decarbonization technologies. These findings suggest that climate mitigation in the European defense sector will progress under the EU framework.
