Achim Steiner, outgoing head of the United Nations Development Programme, has delivered a stark warning to world leaders: increasing defence budgets without corresponding support for climate resilience and international aid is a dangerous miscalculation. In his final address before stepping down from the UN’s top development post, Steiner argued that national security cannot be ensured by weapons alone in a world increasingly shaped by climate chaos, economic interdependence, and cross-border crises.

Rising Defence Budgets, Falling Global Cooperation

Many governments, including those in the United States, United Kingdom, and parts of Europe, have ramped up defence spending in recent years. However, this has often come at the cost of international development budgets. Steiner labelled this shift as shortsighted, suggesting that by slashing aid to vulnerable countries, wealthy nations are eroding the very relationships and systems that help maintain global stability.

According to Steiner, the idea that countries can secure themselves solely by investing in domestic military strength is misguided. In a world as interconnected as ours, crises do not respect borders. Whether the threat is climate-related, health-driven, or digital, resilience must be built through cooperation, not isolation.

Redefining What National Security Means

Rather than viewing climate finance and development support as charitable side projects, Steiner urged governments to treat them as integral to their national security strategies. He called for a dual-track model where defence investments are matched by international development and resilience-building initiatives. This broader definition of security, he argued, would make it easier for policymakers to justify and prioritise spending on areas such as clean energy, food systems, and public health in developing nations.

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This is not merely a theoretical proposition. Several countries are already exploring more inclusive definitions of national security. Spain, for instance, has earmarked €1.75 billion of its defence budget specifically for climate-related activities. Germany is incorporating green infrastructure within its national security planning. Steiner believes these moves point the way forward.

Climate Change as a Security Multiplier

Steiner stressed that climate change is not a distant or abstract threat. Its impacts are already compounding existing pressures across the globe, from food price spikes and water shortages to forced migration and violent conflict. These ripple effects often land hardest in the poorest countries, many of which are now defunding their own health and education systems to keep up with debt repayments.

For Steiner, the true threat to global stability lies not just in conventional warfare, but in the knock-on consequences of neglecting the climate crisis. He listed cyberterrorism, pandemics, and runaway climate change as the most pressing dangers facing the international community today, warning that failing to address them now would invite far more costly consequences later.

Development is Prevention, Not Just Aid

The United Nations, long a key player in coordinating aid and building resilience in the developing world, is now under growing pressure. Steiner noted the recent scaling back of USAID in the United States, along with reduced financial support from other major donors including the EU, Japan, and Canada. This retrenchment threatens to paralyse multilateral cooperation at a time when it is needed most.

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Development, Steiner emphasised, is not simply about alleviating poverty. It is a form of risk mitigation, an investment in social cohesion and political stability. Helping countries strengthen their institutions, economies, and infrastructure reduces the likelihood of crises erupting in the first place. But when funding dries up, so too does the capacity to prevent those crises.

A Global Rethink of Security and Solidarity

With his departure from UNDP, Steiner leaves behind a sobering assessment of the state of international cooperation. Post-pandemic reversals in development progress, rising debt burdens, and climate shocks are converging to create a dangerous moment of global instability. He urged world leaders to rethink where their real national interests lie, and to acknowledge that many of today’s risks cannot be solved unilaterally.

True national security, Steiner concluded, requires looking beyond borders. It demands investment not only in tanks and technology, but also in diplomacy, sustainability, and solidarity. Without that global view, nations risk fighting the battles of the future with the tools of the past.

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