Zack Polanski, the leader of the Green party in England, is set to challenge Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s government to publish an unredacted report by UK spy chiefs, which reportedly warns of "catastrophic consequences" for national security stemming from the collapse of overseas ecosystems.
Speaking at the Wild Summit event in Bristol on Wednesday, Mr Polanski will demand that the Prime Minister provides full transparency regarding the scale and impact of the climate and nature crisis. He is expected to ask: "Will you tell the truth – and release the full unredacted report from the joint intelligence chiefs? Or will you keep hiding the truth from the public?"
The report, compiled by the Joint Intelligence Committee and other government departments, was initially revealed by The Guardian last year. It reportedly paints a severe picture of potential food shortages, price rises, increased migration, political destabilisation, and even armed conflict, all resulting from ecosystem collapse, exacerbated by human-induced climate change and over-exploitation.
A redacted, 14-page version of the report, containing some of its findings, was released in January. However, the government has consistently declined to publish the full document, despite numerous freedom of information requests from journalists and appeals from Members of Parliament.
Mr Polanski, who is anticipated to be the Green party candidate in the upcoming by-election for Holborn and St Pancras, will argue that the extreme weather experienced across much of the UK this summer should serve as a critical wake-up call for ministers.
"It was a bleak preview of what is to come if we continue to allow the greed of corporations to come above the survival of our natural world – and all that relies on it," Mr Polanski stated. "This must mark a turning point. Where we say: no more loss, no more quieting of birdsong, no more steady trickling of sewage and poison into our waters."
The intelligence report highlighted that the UK would face severe repercussions from the decline of vital ecosystems in other countries. This includes concerns over the Amazon rainforest, which scientists fear is nearing a "tipping point" due to deforestation and rising temperatures, potentially transforming it from a significant carbon dioxide absorber into a net carbon source.
Among the report’s alarming conclusions were the near certainty of food shortages stemming from ecosystem decline overseas, alongside a significant rise in global migration, which could fuel unrest. One of the most critical findings suggested that armed conflict, including the potential for nuclear war, was a conceivable consequence.
The full report was originally scheduled for publication at an event last October at the Natural History Museum, with King Charles expected to attend. However, its release was cancelled at the last minute, reportedly at the behest of Downing Street.
In a related development, a coalition of green groups has also written to Prime Minister Burnham, warning that national security, public health, and economic growth are imperilled without urgent measures to restore nature. The UK has a legally binding commitment to restore 30% of nature by 2030, a target agreed by over 100 countries during the Cop15 negotiations in Montreal in 2022. This target is considered the minimum necessary to halt and reverse the global decline in nature.
The groups warned the Prime Minister in their letter: "Your government has diplomatic and legal obligations to halt the decline of wildlife and protect 30% of the land and sea for nature by 2030… On the current path the UK will miss those targets." They further highlighted that two-thirds of the UK’s protected nature sites require "urgent repair," many having been neglected or damaged by intensive industry, pollution, and the climate crisis.
This neglect, the coalition cautioned, leaves communities and businesses vulnerable to increased risks of flooding, drought, wildfires, and pollution. New research suggests that approximately £2 billion annually needs to be invested in protected nature sites to restore them by 2042, an increase from the current investment of around £1.1 billion. The groups are advocating for greater funding, stronger legal frameworks, and decisive enforcement to address what they describe as the "abuses that are hollowing out our natural world."
In response, a Labour spokesperson stated: "This is the first government to take seriously the risks that climate change and nature loss pose to our food security, economic resilience, and national security. We’re taking decisive action, including launching the UK’s first taskforce on the national security and resilience risks of climate change and nature loss, investing in nature recovery at home and abroad, and delivering the largest nature-friendly farming budget in history."
