The Carabinieri Centre of Excellence for Environmental Protection (CoEEP) was honoured to host, at its premises in Sabaudia, Italy, the advanced course “The Climate-Environment-Security and Defence Nexus”, delivered in cooperation with the NATO Climate Change and Security Centre of Excellence (CCASCOE) within the Climate Change, Environment, Security and Defence (CCESD) configuration of the European Security and Defence College (ESDC).
The course brought together military and civilian practitioners, experts and representatives of institutions from several countries, providing an important opportunity for dialogue and exchange on the increasingly interconnected challenges of climate change, the environment, security and defence.
The Italian Carabinieri also made a direct contribution to the training activities: Carabinieri Officers participated in the course both as instructors, sharing their professional expertise and experience, and as course participants.
Through training sessions, expert discussions and a comprehensive scenario-based exercise, participants explored how climate-related conditions can affect the operating environment, how to analyse critical functions and their interdependencies, how to anticipate the evolution of risks and their operational implications, and how to strengthen resilience, preparedness, adaptation and mission continuity.
The strongly practical nature of the course enabled participants to test their judgement and decision-making capabilities under conditions of uncertainty, while also fostering dialogue and cooperation across different areas of expertise, institutions and organisations.
For the Carabinieri CoEEP, hosting this activity represented an important opportunity for international cooperation, knowledge-sharing and partnership-building, confirming the role of training as a fundamental tool for addressing complex and cross-cutting challenges such as those arising from climate change and its implications for security.
Our sincere thanks also go to the NATO Climate Change and Security Centre of Excellence (CCASCOE), Course Director Benedikt Brammer, the European Security and Defence College (ESDC) and its Climate Security Coordinator, Esther Breffka, as well as to all trainers, experts and participants, for their high level of professionalism, valuable contributions and excellent spirit of cooperation.
The CoEEP is proud to have contributed, through this activity, to strengthening dialogue and cooperation between the European Union, NATO and partner countries, recognising that climate resilience is becoming an increasingly important component of future security and defence.