Green Party leader Zack Polanski has said the UK should invest in defending against the climate crisis rather than listening to Donald Trump on security spending. He reiterated his view that the climate crisis is “the biggest threat to our national security since the Second World War”.
Defence spending and climate adaptation
Appearing at Iain Dale All Talk at the Edinburgh Fringe, he was asked whether he agrees with increasing defence spending to 3% of GDP when there are “so many competing environmental needs.” Mr Polanski said that if defence spending includes money for climate adaptation such as dealing with floods and wildfires, then “we clearly need to up our spending”.
He suggested that was more important than listening to US President Donald Trump, who has called for Nato allies to shoulder more of the burden of European defence. Mr Polanski said: “If we’re talking about spending 3.5% of our GDP on military spending to please Donald Trump, then I think there’s an absolute incoherency in that.”
Climate crisis as national security threat
“We’re already, I think, one of the fifth biggest spenders on military capacity, and actually, I think we need to look at defence as a much more holistic issue. I said this week, and I really believe, that the climate crisis is the biggest threat to our national security since the Second World War.”
“It’s not some distant threat – it’s right here, right now. We’ve had wildfires not far away from here, where we’re talking in Edinburgh, and we know that what’s happening right now is not the new normal. This is the beginning of what will be the least extreme temperatures and least extreme weather in our lifetimes.”
Call for investment in prevention
“It is going to get worse and worse and worse. And in many ways, it’s a grim message. We can’t stop some of that breakdown, what we can do, though, and it’s important that people hear this, is we can stop total breakdown, and that feels beyond important to do, and that’s where we should be investing right now, not on listening to what Donald Trump says or creating arbitrary numbers of GDP.”
Mr Polanski also reflected on his 11 months as leader of the Green Party, saying what the party has achieved so far is the “prologue”, adding “we’re not even at the beginning chapter”. He said the party is going to “take on this Government” and also said it would “stop Reform in their tracks”.
Threats and personal reflections
Asked what has surprised him about his 11 months as leader, Mr Polanski replied that he has been surprised by the level of fame that has come with the role. He also spoke of his concerns about threats he has received, some of which he said are being investigated by police.
He mentioned the death of former MP Ann Widdecombe, who was found dead at her bungalow in Haytor on Dartmoor, Devon last month. Joshua Kerry, 28, was charged with her murder on July 20.
Mr Polanski said: “That was the thing that surprised me, was you sign up to be a leader of a party, and you sign up to speak about the values, and you sign up for robust debate. You don’t sign up – and I’m aware that Ann Widdecombe has already been in this conversation – you don’t sign up to experience threats or to feel those threats.”
“And I would never allow it to scare me to silence me, and I don’t think it should ever silence anyone, no matter what their political view. It’s also true to say it’s unnerving and scary, and not what what me and my partner signed up for.”
