Defence research? Important, but don’t forget climate change

It is a fixed ritual every year. In mid-January, some 1,500 scientists travel to the town of Veldhoven for NWO Physics, the place to be for Dutch physicists. Two days full of science, networking PhD students, and, of course, the familiar performance by DJ Mike. For more than 20 years I have been returning from Veldhoven satisfied.

Yet, in 2026, even this oasis of knowledge could not escape geopolitical reality. The Monday evening, traditionally reserved for discussion on strategy and policy, was entirely devoted to collaboration with the Ministry of Defence. And during a special focus session on Physics and Defence, an army officer, complete in combat uniform, took to the stage to talk about what defence-related research could look like.

Last November, the Ministry of Defence announced (in Dutch) that it would make EUR 35 million available through NWO (the Dutch Research Council) for research in order to ‘maintain a lead in combat’. NWO itself put it slightly more subtly: ‘the research and innovative power of the Netherlands can greatly strengthen our security and thereby actively and effectively contribute to more strategic autonomy and better protection’.

If left to the AWTI, before long the TU Delft blue will make way for camouflage green

This announcement in turn followed a report by the AWTI advisory board (Advisory Council for Science, Technology and Innovation) with the peculiar title ‘Knowledge offensive for Defence’. Their advice sounds almost boyishly enthusiastic: ‘mobilise the entire knowledge ecosystem for defence research and innovation’. If left to the AWTI, before long the TU Delft blue will make way for camouflage green.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m aware of the military threat and of course that we need to avoid falling behind technologically. Still, I think some restraint is in order. This is mainly because of what is not said. Amidst all the geopolitical and military tensions, we must not lose sight of the background against which these developments are taking place: the ever-escalating climate and ecological crisis.

Danger of armed conflicts arising from 2030 onwards as a result of food shortages

Our society is running against the limits imposed on us by the planet. Established powers, seeing their private interests jeopardised, become desperate and unpredictable. As long as we do not remove or even discuss the cause, this threat will only increase. That message does not come just from me, and not even from science, alone. Last September, Tom Middendorp, former Commander of the Armed Forces, warned (in Dutch) of exactly the same thing. He explicitly linked climate change to our national security, earning him the nickname ‘Climate General’. And just this week, a report from the British intelligence services (in Dutch) was published that points to the danger of armed conflicts arising from 2030 onwards as a result of, among other things, food shortages.

Despite all these warnings, the Dutch Government continues to give away more than EUR 40 billion annually in the form of fossil fuel subsidies: fiscal measures that actively promote the excessive use of fossil fuels. These subsidies not only counteract any effort towards sustainability, they also directly oppose defence research. It’s like spending 35 million on seat belts while continuing to invest a thousand times that amount in boosting engines and cutting brake cables.

As far as NWO is concerned, the matter is simple: we should not ask ourselves if, but only how the Ministry of Defence can finance us. As such, it bypasses an important issue: by presuming that defence research is necessary and urgent, attention is diverted away from measures that may be much more necessary and urgent than that.

The economic forces that are holding back climate policy are simply too strong

Opponents tend to dismiss the reasoning I present here that defence research and effective climate policy should be a matter of and/and and not either/or as whataboutism. But that is exactly the problem: as long as no one speaks out, it will never be and/and. The economic forces that are holding back climate policy are simply too strong.

Scientists have a critical, independent voice. Let us not meekly join the military parade and instead seize this opportunity for a constructive counter-voice. Our knowledge and skills belong to society. But how we best serve that society is largely up to us.