Armed forces with a low carbon boot print

Military commanders not only have a financial budget but also have to fit their campaigns and activities within a pre-fixed carbon budget. Military planners from different countries co-operate on a regional basis on contingency plans for disaster relief in case of extreme weather events. Troops employed on peace-building missions have camps powered by wind and solar and electric vehicles. Military strategists consider weak states as weak because of failures of their environmental systems. They develop scenarios to support the ecological preconditions for human well-being as part of their mission to protect national security interests.
These are just a few of the images sketched by military strategists from different parts of the world of the changes in international security, during a conference on Climate Change and Security, organized by IES in Brussels a week ago. A hopeful dream, supported by the reality that there is no other choice. And the change is already ongoing: the military as leaders in sustainability?

What questions do people have on life style change?

"Are our messages about climate change not too much focused on fear and on problems?" "How can we change our behaviour if society continues business as usual?" "Will the economic crisis be an opportunity for change or an obstacle?" "Will climate change force us to use nuclear energy?" "How can we use the new social media to trigger behaviour change?" "What will our life style change look like?" "How do we mobilize our European societies to change towards a low carbon lifestyle?" These were some of questions from the audience last month, when I gave a lecture on 'Life and Sustainable Development' at the invitation of the Fundación Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente in the Casa Encendida in Madrid.