I. Introduction

This section introduces France's launch of the "Climate and Defence Strategy" in 2022, making it the first EU member state to release such a strategy, marking the preliminary establishment of its climate security system; elaborates on how the climate-security nexus has become a new trend for Western powers in addressing climate change, encompassing both national-level recognition and action by defense departments regarding climate security risks and international-level developments such as the UN's designation of climate change as a "threat multiplier"; and points out that studying France's climate security policy holds practical significance for revealing new trends in global climate and security governance.

II. Characteristics of France's Climate Security Policy

This section examines four core characteristics of France's climate security policy. First, the multi-dimensional construction feature is manifested in the three-dimensional strategic positioning—extending from traditional defense security to non-traditional security fields, the systematic institutional framework—forming a complete system covering participating departments, governance objectives, targeted areas, implementing agencies, advancement levels, and research support, and the comprehensive coverage—encompassing both overarching strategic planning documents and targeted practical guidelines. Second, the logic integration feature is expressed through balancing mitigation and adaptation dual pathways, reducing energy consumption and emissions through "green defense" and enhancing operational capabilities through "climate security," reflecting the intertwined governance logic of "securitization of climate issues" and "climatization of security issues." Third, the precise implementation feature is demonstrated through zonal and regional policy advancement, integrating regional military cooperation mechanisms and establishing new cooperation networks in institutional arrangements, and relying on the Defense and Climate Observatory to conduct regionalized research in scientific cognition—an approach stemming from three considerations: regional challenge differences, institutional setting matching, and resource constraints. Fourth, the collaborative governance feature is manifested in strengthening internal and external synergies, coordinating defense agencies, government departments, and non-governmental organizations at the domestic level, and conducting bilateral cooperation (such as Franco-American cooperation) and multilateral cooperation (through NATO, EU, and other platforms) at the international level, aiming to break information silos, promote information sharing, and reduce action resistance.

III. Driving Factors of France's Climate Security Policy

This section explores four driving factors of France's climate security policy. At the domestic level, climate change poses multiple security threats to France's mainland and overseas territories, including frequent natural disasters, food and health risks, and climate migration pressures; meanwhile, extreme weather damages military personnel and equipment, increases defense infrastructure costs, expands military mission scope to humanitarian rescue fields, and impacts existing strategies and tactics, prompting the defense department to elevate climate adaptation to strategic priority. At the regional level, by being the first to release the "Climate and Defence Strategy," France has set an EU benchmark, both providing new impetus for advancing European integration and engaging in climate security leadership competition with Germany, accelerating the EU's overall action process. At the international organization level, scientific assessments by institutions such as the IPCC have pushed climate issues from environmental topics to comprehensive security issues, with mechanisms such as the UN Security Council and NATO continuously strengthening the climate securitization trend, prompting countries to incorporate climate into high-level political agendas, to which France has responsively adapted to this international normative shift. At the global influence level, France relies on humanitarian climate security policies, through conceptual guidance—such as proposing the "environmental security prediction" concept and hosting climate security ministerial meetings—and overseas military rescue practices, to maintain its intervention legitimacy and regional influence in Africa's Sahel, the South Pacific, and the Caribbean regions, compensating for the dilemma of declining hard power.

IV. Development Prospects and Constraints of France's Climate Security Policy

This section analyzes four balancing constraints facing France's climate security policy. First, the balance between defense emission reduction and military combat effectiveness: France adopts a gradual transition strategy, initially reducing emissions in non-combat areas, but combat forces' petroleum dependence is difficult to resolve in the short term, and environmental requirements may impair armament efficiency and competitiveness. Second, the balance between traditional armaments and technological R&D: although French military spending has reached historical highs due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, its GDP proportion remains below Cold War levels, with traditional security expenditures squeezing climate security research investment, forcing the Defense and Climate Observatory to reduce its research scope. Third, the balance between traditional defense and humanitarian rescue: climate change intensifies disaster rescue demands in mainland and overseas territories, while traditional security threats such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict persist, creating a dilemma in military resource allocation. Fourth, the balance between domestic institutions and international agendas: at the domestic level, leadership changes, institutional adjustments, and inter-departmental competition affect policy continuity; at the international level, France actively advances climate security issues in NATO, the EU, and the UN, but the "pan-securitization" tendency faces opposition from countries such as Russia and India, potentially exacerbating global climate governance divisions.

V. Conclusion

This section compares differences between France and the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom in climate security policy, noting that France achieves better balance between "green defense" and adaptation capacity building, has broader military practice scope, and adopts regionalized treatment methods; it emphasizes the room for France's leadership in EU climate security to grow following Brexit, and its path to advancing the global climate security agenda through influence in Africa, the Pacific, and other regions and its UN Security Council position. It also mentions the relevance of China's Global Security Initiative to climate security, and prospects for China-France cooperation in humanitarian assistance to Pacific small island states, suggesting this may become a new opportunity for China to advance global climate governance.