The Climate Crisis Needs a Defense Playbook — Here’s One That Works
by Lieutenant Colonel (Res.) Gadi Benjamini and Major (Res.) Shay Bar
For a growing number of communities, climate is our biggest threat. Defense strategy and technologies have protected communities for centuries—now they can help shield communities from climate change. This innovative approach repurposes battlefield-proven defense frameworks and technologies to build climate resilience, transforming how communities prepare for catastrophic events. By adapting globally known and well-established military principles like strategic intelligence, rigorous research and development, defensive infrastructure, and coordinated response systems, communities can develop and integrate powerful new tools to anticipate and withstand the growing impacts of climate change.
Strategic Planning - 1O1
The concept of strategy was developed from military history and has been a fundamental tool for achieving objectives under conditions of uncertainty. Originating from the Greek term "strategos" (army leader) strategy was considered the planning of the war, whereas the action amidst war was referred to as "tactics". Over centuries, military leaders and philosophers1 refined strategy principles, emphasizing the importance of understanding the terrain, anticipating threats, and making calculated decisions. For example, Leonardo da Vinci is perhaps best known for his art, but his Codex Atlanticus is filled with strategies from fortifications to machines from his 17 years spent in the service of the Duke of Milan in the 1400s.
In the mid-20th century, with the rise of global industrial competition, businesses began to recognize the value of strategic military doctrines and borrowed strategy to their world, emphasizing competitive advantage, positioning, and long-term planning.
Why Defense Strategies Are Vital for Climate Adaptation
This evolution of strategy - from military to business applications - demonstrates its adaptability to different complex challenges. As we face unprecedented global environmental threats, the principles of strategic planning become increasingly relevant to environmental security. The systematic approach to threat assessment, resource allocation, and coordinated response that characterizes military strategy offers valuable frameworks for addressing climate challenges.
Climate adaptation and resilience (A&R) is a rising need amongst policymakers, businesses and communities. Similar to the battlefield, the A&R doctrine requires well-established terminology and practices that are recognized worldwide, promoting international collaboration and a unified approach to tackling environmental catastrophes. Moreover, defense and A&R are similar in the magnitude and complexity of the threat and the types of technologies that can be used to reduce the threat.
The battlefield is inherently ever-changing, creating versatile threats in:
Magnitude and type: small-scale and decentralized guerrilla warfare to conventional army to army warfare.
The source being internal (terror, insurgencies) or external (foreign invasions).
The environment spans land, sea, air and space, each presenting unique challenges and strategic considerations.
Technologies: small arms to advanced tools such as unmanned vehicles (drones, UAVs), cyberattacks and AI.
These complexities require an intelligent risk management algorithm that assists decision makers in optimally allocating scarce resources2 based on both threat probability and its potential impact. Furthermore, the tools utilized to meet the threat must be tailored to its specific nature, demanding a different response that must be aligned within a coherent, overarching and adaptive strategy that ensures long-term and consistent success.
We claim that climate change is analogous to modern warfare because it:
Poses challenges of vastly different magnitudes, from local weather events to global environmental changes.
Spans various domains, including the atmosphere, oceans, and land.
Creates risks ranging from gradual shifts like rising temperatures to sudden extreme weather events such as floods and tornados.
Just as defense or business strategies must be adaptable and comprehensive, so too must climate strategy be varied, coordinated, and built on a unified framework to tackle the complexities of the climate crisis. The hypothesis is clear: by applying strategic and tactical principles from the defense doctrine, environmental risks can be anticipated, gaps in existing climate action can be identified and initiatives to support risk mitigation can be built.
The Framework
The following framework presents a structured and practical approach to applying proven defense concepts to climate change challenges by adapting five defense core components for climate A&R.
The Townsville Case Study
Nestled in the foothills of a dense forest region with Mediterranean climate characteristics, Townsville had experienced increasingly severe drought conditions over the past decade. The combination of hot, dry summers, strong seasonal winds, and a surrounding landscape dominated by highly flammable vegetation created perfect conditions for catastrophic wildfires. The town’s mayor alongside the local FireSafe council developed a protective strategy based on the defense-inspired framework, implementing the following steps:
Intelligence
Real-time fire tracking using thermal imaging sensors to monitor fire ignition and progression in the forests.
Created an alert model for wildfire-prone weather based on climate conditions (temperature, humidity, drought and winds). In the US such a model is referred to as a red flag warning.
Defense
Manually created firebreaks in strategic points around Townsville's perimeter, especially at the wildland-urban interface (WUI).
Performed prescribed burns to dilute vegetation in and around the town.
Response
Positioned water tankers and portable water tanks at strategic locations
Trained rapid response firefighter teams with specialized fire equipment.
Home Front Command / Homeland Security
Community wildfire preparation program educating on home hardening and evacuation plans.
Implemented the use of alert systems, such as a mobile app, alerting residents of approaching wildfires and sending evacuation orders.
Long Term Planning / Force Buildup
Capability Enhancement: AI-driven simulation platform for testing firefighting strategies in digital twins3 of Townsville's terrain.
Improve evacuation routes from the town.
Summary
Climate change is one of the biggest challenges our communities face, but what if we could borrow proven strategies and technologies from the defense world to tackle it? We've introduced a bold framework that adapts military principles, that breaks down into five battle-tested pillars that can be implemented by communities and organizations: Intelligence gathering, defense & attack (Response) tools, Home Front Command and Long Term Planning elements that ensure we're building community preparedness while keeping our eyes on the horizon. By applying the playbook, we can create more resilient systems, anticipate risks, and strengthen global collaboration.
The time for action is now! Entrepreneurs and investors must work together to create a more versatile and wider toolbox of technologies to enhance climate resilience. Community leaders can adapt the playbook we suggested to create a defensive strategy that will assist them to allocate their resources better.
This article would not have been possible without the generous contributions of many individuals. Thank you.
Sources
Clausewitz, Carl von. On War (1832)
Sun Tzu. The Art of War (5th Century BC)
Liddell Hart, B. H. Strategy (1929)
Porter, Michael E. Competitive Strategy (1980)
Mintzberg, Henry. The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning (1994)
Chandler, Alfred D. Strategy and Structure: Chapters in the History of the Industrial Enterprise (1962)
Da Vinci, Leonardo, Codex Atlanticus
Wikipedia
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection | CAL FIRE
Such as Carl von Clausewitz and Sun Tzu
Resources are usually scarce, posing a challenge that can be addressed by different mechanisms such as scaling up commercial technologies and creating dedicated local, state and federal regulations and subsidies. This article doesn’t focus on this important topic.
A digital twin is a digital model of an intended or actual real-world physical product, system, or process (a physical twin) that serves as a digital counterpart of it for purposes such as simulation, integration, testing, monitoring, and maintenance
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