Tom Middendorp is a retired general of the Royal Netherlands Army. He has served as Chief of Defence of the Armed forces of the Netherlands from 2012 to 2017. Today he is the Chair of the International Military Council on Climate and Security (IMCCS).
He has recently published “The Climate General”, a broad analysis of global security risks posed by climate change.
Here are the questions that we discussed:
1) The Army is among the institutions that's most concerned about climate change.
Can you please tell us how you, as an individual, gradually came to realize the global security risks posed by climate change?
2) The issue of water scarcity is very much present throughout your book. For instance you refer to dams as a weapon of war. What is your analysis of some future security hotspots posed by water scarcity? (e.g. Ethiopia/Egypt)
3) You are the Chair of the IMCCS. Can you describe some scenarios that the IMCCS is particularly trying to anticipate?
4) In your view, how should military strategy and operations adapt to climate change?
We have discussed this before on Plan(s) B with Angelique Palle and Edouard Jolly from IRSEM.
5) How do you perceive and anticipate the role of NATO European military powers in this future? Should we rather anticipate rivalry or cooperation with rising Asian powers?
6) The second half of your book is a call to action for climate change adaptation and mitigation. You put forward the idea of "declaring war against climate change", including radical technological changes and changes in the global economy and our lifestyles. You also mention the wealth that represents indigenous knowledge in developing countries. Could you please elaborate on that?
7) Finally, your book does not mention it, but do you have a view on solar geo-engineering as a last resort to avoid global collapse? Talk and research is accelerating around techniques such as stratospheric aerosol injection. According to you, what would be some geopolitical and military implications of such an enterprise?
Other links referred to during the interview
Hydrologie régénérative
Simon Ricard
Charlène Descollonges
