EUROMIL and GMACCC Discuss Climate Change and the Role of the Military

Brussels, 25 February 2022 

The European Organisation of Military Associations and Trade Unions (EUROMIL) in association with GMACCC organised an on-line panel discussion on Climate Change and the Military in which participants learned about the EU’s actions towards the ‘greening’ of the military and civil society’s point of view on what should be done next.

EUROMIL’s President, Emmanuel Jacob, opened the meeting by referring to EUROMIL’s internal survey on climate change, which shows that the majority (92%) of the participating members stated that they would like EUROMIL to become more engaged in the climate change discussion.

Dr Constantinos Hadjisavvas from the European Defence Agency (EDA) presented the agency’s ongoing work towards sustainability in the military, as the Energy Consultation Forum or the Circular Economy in Defence Forum. Ms Linsey Cottrell from the Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS) highlighted that the current reporting of military emissions is poor and more transparency is needed in order for the militaries to reduce their environmental footprint and avoid the risk of green-washing.

Moderating the discussion, GMACCC’s Secretary General, Jamie Shea, concluded that investments and modernization of capabilities is important and to the extent that it is possible the military should acquire ‘green equipment’ to adapt to the global threat of climate change.

>>> Read more about the event and the presentations >>>