The Resilience Brief

Across society, strategies are constructed, cohered and enacted by a range of senior individuals. To date, The Resilience Brief has reflected the influence of these prominent, resilience champions, hosting a range of senior leaders. But innovation thrives within the masses - those who face the impacts of climate related challenges first-hand on a daily basis. So, what are the benefits of 'top-down, bottom-up leadership' and what does it look like in practice?

As we enter the final third of The Resilience Brief podcast, Dr Sarah Ashbridge and Lieutenant Colonel Ali Beard invite two soldiers known for their...

Episodes 5-7 of TRB considered how Defence is tackling climate resilience on operations within individual domains – land, sea and air. But operations are rarely conducted in isolation. How does the conversation differ when synchronising planning and execution across multiple domains? TRB invites two MDO experts to find out more. 

Multi Domain Operations, or MDO, describes the military concept of coordinated planning of military activities, across all operating domains, in pursuit of strategic objectives. It is terminology that attempts to shift discussion from joint operations, to encourage a wider integrated approach, across both civil and military organisations. 

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Aviation fuel emissions have been an enduring issue for air forces in the fight for climate resilience. However, with developments in Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) driven by mandates, what else is on the radar for air operations?

Continuing with our domain focused sub-series, episode 7 of The Resilience Brief podcast pivots to the air domain, to discuss the challenges and potential solution that are fuelling air force activity. NATO air forces are increasingly integrating Sustainable Aviation Fuel to propel their aircraft in the search for sustainability. But emissions alone should not dominate climate conversations within the air domain...

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...

The threat of climate change on global security means it is an area where Armed Forces must pay increasing attention. But with the challenge varying across domains, how does has it manifested into operational risks for land forces and how are they mitigating them?

The first four episodes of The Resilience Brief set the scene, introducing the concept of climate change within Defence and identifying risks. But how is the challenge being tackled by various Armed Forces?

This episode marks the first in a new sub-section of the podcast, exploring key trends, challenges and opportunities...

Defence has a tradition of short-termism when implementing climate related policies, routinely seeking to deprioritise resilience initiatives to overcome budgetary shortfalls. In this instance, Generals sight the likelihood of a significant climate related disaster as low while environmentalists might argue otherwise. Is there a trend of failing to recognise or plan appropriately and what are the unintended consequences of a worst-case scenario.

Armed forces across the NATO Alliance are faced with the challenge of both adapting to modern conflict but also the need to resilience challenges caused by climate change. Financial pressures have created a tendency to...

NATO define interoperability as "The ability to act together coherently, effectively and efficiently to achieve Allied objectives". But what does it mean to achieve, or even contribute to, interoperability to achieve wider resilience?

The success of NATO operations often depends on the ability of forces to work together, often as part of a multinational alliance and routinely with civil-military partnerships, to achieve shared strategic goals. But what does it actually mean to be interoperable in the area of building environmental resilience? Where should armed forces lead, and where should they recognise the boundaries and limitations of military...

For an armed force to be resilient, it must be able to meet its current and future needs, and to support the needs of the population(s) that it seeks to protect. The climate science community has a role to play in helping others to understand what the future world and the operating theatres within it might look like. But where should defence practitioners look to engage, and how much certainty is required to necessitate action now?

In this episode, hosts Dr Sarah Ashbridge and Lieutenant Colonel Alistair Beard are joined by Lieutenant General Richard Wardlaw (Centre f...

What is the relationship between climate science and resilience in the context of defence operations? In this first episode of The Resilience Brief (TRB) podcast, hosts Lt. Col. Ali Beard and Dr Sarah Ashbridge are joined by guests who can help us to bring together different strands of research to help us to navigate this very question.

To kick-start the series, the TRB hosts are joined by two speakers with the skills and experience to help us make sense of how the environment informs defence operations, what we can learn from our recent past, and the risks...