In Hot Water: Climate Challenges for Naval Forces

Like land forces, navies are faced with the breadth and scale of climate related risks, so how is climate science informing conversations around maritime platforms and the future demands upon naval services? Our sub-series on domain specific risks continues with episode 6, which focuses on the unique threats and challenges for naval operations. What are the unique threats presented by a changing maritime environment, and how do these changes affect platforms? How are different navies responding to the increasing number of requests for humanitarian aid and disaster relief (HADR) services? Special guests Lisa Hammock (Royal Navy) and Arnaud Boehmann (independent analyst) join hosts Dr Sarah Ashbridge and Lieutenant Colonel Ali Beard to discuss key challenges and the importance of narratives to support strategic direction in the naval sphere. Our guests introduce us to projects from within NATO, such as the UK Royal Navy's work to explore the refuelling of a carrier strike group deployment, or the NATO Defence College Rome's modelling of future oceans; but also highlight lessons from allied partners such as Brazil and Indonesia. Intrigued? Tune in to find out more. Clarification: In this discussion, "multi-role" refers to a medical ship's ability to provide a range of medical services. It should not be interpreted as "dual-use" in an operational and humanitarian sense. In an Article V scenario, medical ships cannot be simultaneously deployed for both operational and humanitarian missions. The views of all speakers represent their own opinions based on their individual experiences. All views belong to the individual speakers and do not reflect the official position of their employers or the IMCCS This podcast has been created thanks to the sponsorship and partnership of Frazer-Nash and the NATO Climate Change and Security Centre of Excellence (CCASCOE). This product has also been enabled by the production services of Two Jacks Communications and project management services of S A Consultancy (Yorkshire). Resources recommended by Episode 6 guest speakers:  -            German Advisory Council on Global Change (2007). 'Climate Change as a Security Risk.' -            Andrea Gilli and Mauro Gilli (2025). 'The hunt for Red October in warmer oceans – Climate change and anti-submarine warfare.' NATO Defense College [outlook article], 19 March. Available online: https://www.ndc.nato.int/the-hunt-for-red-october-in-warmer-oceans-climate-change-and-anti-submarine-warfare/ -            David J. C. MacKay (2008). Sustainable Energy – Without the hot air. Cambridge: UIT. -            Stuart Goldsmith – Climate comedian: https://www.stua