New paper synthesizes nearly 40 years of scientific data generated by the IPCC
Brussels / The Hague, 17 June 2026
A new paper, authored by retired US Army Brigadier General and environmental engineer Dr. Wendell Chris King, argues that climate change represents the primary threat to global peace and security in the modern era. Bridging a 36-year military career with extensive academic expertise, King synthesizes personal insights with nearly 40 years of scientific data generated by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
The text examines the history of environmental security and details the evolution of the IPCC’s rigorous, risk-based peer-review methodology. By tracking data across six successive Assessment Reports (AR1 through AR6), King demonstrates how scientific confidence has steadily strengthened. Findings that were once conservatively uncertain have matured into the unequivocal conclusion that human activity is the primary driver of global warming. This predictive accuracy is underscored by the fact that the IPCC’s 1990 projection of a 1.0°C temperature increase by 2025 closely matches the actual recorded warming of 1.09°C.
he paper systematically analyses critical climate parameters—such as warming, sea level rise, vanishing snow cover, and extreme weather—and maps them against their direct impacts on human stability. King frames climate change as a critical "threat multiplier" that worsens existing geopolitical vulnerabilities. When environmental shifts deny populations basic human needs, they trigger secondary security crises, including famines, resource scarcity, epidemic diseases, mass migrations, and regional conflicts. This dynamic is prominently illustrated by the melting glaciers of the Tibetan Plateau, a vital water source shared by heavily armed, competing nations. Ultimately, King issues an urgent warning against political climate denial, calling for immediate, cooperative global action to implement vital mitigation and adaptation strategies before unpreventable damage overwhelms global security.
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"US Army Brigadier General (Retired) Dr. Chris King offers a combined practitioner and scholarly perspective on climate change and environmental security. His insights are particularly salient at a time when grounded, experiential understanding must inform meaningful and effective action."
- Dr. Lloyd Chubbs, Retired Environmental Engineer, Canadian Armed Forces
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"As a military professional trained to counter uncertainties with facts and contingency planning, Brigadier General King highlights the indisputable scientific conclusions of IPCC to urge climate change action to prevent human conflict. His stark warning that a nuclear winter may well be preferable to the path we are following is a thought that is much too sobering, especially for those of us who are dependent on the Tibetan Plateau. Dr. King is preparing us for a future many of us will not live to see, but one we can avert by changing how we live today.”
- Lieutenant General Tariq Waseem Ghazi (Ret.), Former Defence Secretary of Pakistan (2005-2007)
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“Brigadier General Dr. Chris King provides a sweeping analysis of the rigor and import of IPCC findings over the last four decades. As he expertly shows, the cooperative scientific work led by the IPCC has produced unprecedented, actionable data on the impacts of climate change and viable paths to address them. Cautioning that our response will determine our collective future, he underscores the clear imperative stemming from the IPCC findings. Written for scientific and policy communities alike, the piece is a must read for students and practitioners in the fields of climate and environmental security.”
- Dr. Ashley Moran, Co-Director, Center for Law and Democracy, University of Texas at Austin
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“BG Dr King’s central thesis is that the unequivocal scientific data made available by the IPCC, identifies Climate Change as the defining threat to human security in our time. He courageously warns that to ignore or to be dismissive of this threat, is to contribute to the demise of global security. He valiantly advocates that our collective efforts should be devoted to countering the vulnerabilities to Climate Change”.
-Major General Joseph G. Singh, (Ret.), Former Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (1990-2000)
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“US Army Brigadier General (Ret) Dr. Chris King presents a powerful reflection on the role of climate change in national security, tracing the role of the IPCC process through all six assessments. He’s a man to listen to.”
- Durwood Zaelke, President, Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development
The paper is published for the Global Military Advisory Council on Climate Change (GMACCC) by the Environment & Development Resource Centre (EDRC)
Cover Photo: IPCC adoption of the Summary for Policymakers of the Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C., at the 48th Session of the IPCC and the First Joint Session of Working Groups I, II and III. Incheon, Republic of Korea, 1-5 October 2018 - Photo by IISD/ENB | Sean Wu, International Institute for Sustainable Development, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons