Climate resilience and security: Reflections from the UK and Finland

March 20, 2025

Thursday 20.03.2025

From 18:30 to 20:00

London, UK

Contact person

The entire panel session is available in the video below. Please note that, due to technical issues, the first 13 minutes are only audio.

 

 

More about the event

Climate resilience: What can Britain learn from Finland’s security model?

The COVID-19 pandemic and inflationary shock fundamentally tested the UK’s resilience and security. In response, the government is undertaking a review of national resilience. Security threats resulting from climate change should be at the core of the government’s approach. These threats have been consistently and significantly underestimated and now pose major risks.

Non-linear and escalating climate threats, including potentially catastrophic tipping points, can cascade and disrupt other systems. Meanwhile, the UK is not resilient to even current levels of climate change. This new climate reality calls for innovation in our national security institutions.

Learning from other countries can be a helpful starting point. Finland’s Comprehensive Security Model has been recognised as an innovative framework that takes a more systemic approach to security, integrating foresight and preparedness with coordination across different sectors and levels of society. It, therefore, holds potential in inspiring the next generation of climate security strategies.

This event, hosted by Demos Helsinki and the Strategic Climate Risk Initiative brought together leading experts on climate and security from Finland and the UK to discuss how to better respond to complex climate risks.

The event was structured as a panel discussion featuring policymakers and experts from the UK and Finland.

Great thanks to everyone that joined us and to our esteemed panelists:

  • Jessica Seddon, Yale University, TIAL
  • Olivia Lazard, Peace in Design Consulting
  • Laurie Laybourn, Strategic Climate Risks Initiative
  • Juha Leppänen, Demos Helsinki, TIAL
  • Moderator: Theo Cox, Demos Helsinki

To read more about the key insights from the event, you can read our Linkedin post here. Follow us on Linkedin to be the first to know about event opportunities like this one.

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