General (RET) Tom Middendorp was The Netherlands Chief of Defense for five and a half years and spent 38 years serving his country. He commanded soldiers on all levels, led a large multinational taskforce in the south of Afghanistan and was involved in over twenty different military missions as the Director of Operations. In his work he experienced how climate change is already acting as a risk multiplier. To him it is clear that climate change is also a matter of national security and that the security sector has a role to play when it comes to mitigation and adaptation efforts.
When he retired Tom Middendorp established – and was appointed as the Chairman of – the International Military Council on Climate and Security (IMCCS); a global network of security experts and research institutes from over 40 countries. In 2022 he published his first book on Climate and Security that he dedicated to his children. In 2023 this book was also published in French and English versions and in 2024 it will be filmed in a documentary.
He joined The Clingendael Institute as a Senior Visiting Fellow and is attached to The Hague Center for Strategic Studies as a Strategic Security Expert. He is also the Netherlands’ Special Envoy on European Defence Cooperation. Tom supports several start-up innovations on the area of climate change and is a well-known guest speaker at summits and meetings.