Climate Security is starting to get a global security priority. To enhance awareness and understanding, HCSS organized an online Climate Security Game in parallel with the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow. In this game a voluntary group of people from various backgrounds participated. Some of the game results and arguments are taken up in this factsheet:
Tom Middendorp, former Chief of Defence of the Netherlands, Strategic Advisor to HCSS and Chairman of the International Military Council on Climate and Security (IMCCS) gave a Keynote speech.
Climate security is about the relationship between national and human security and climate change. More specifically, it is about security threats to natural and human systems posed by climate change and its adverse impacts.
Watch the Keynote by Tom Middendorp:
Our serious game is designed as a gamified analysis tool with the aim to increase your awareness about relevant capabilities that are needed for conflict prevention in the context of climate change; to address what climate change will mean for the planning of policies, activities and operations of different actors; and to discuss the role of militaries in climate change prevention, response and after-care.
This HCSS Strategic Capability game is a product based on the methodology of serious gaming. This gaming introduces participants to strategic capability thinking. It facilitates:
• strategic discussions on what local organizations or national governments as well as international institutions are and/or are not capable of;
• makes it possible to assess existing capabilities, identify capabilities that are lacking and supports the transfer of knowledge on capability building as well as network development;
• In addition to helping identify promising new capabilities, exercises using serious gaming methodology help raise awareness and understanding of issues at stake;
• Last but not least the facilitating can also be used for synchronized planning as well responsibility distribution as these are fully supported with these games.
