The UK government’s national security assessment released yesterday underscores a stark reality: accelerating nature loss is not just an environmental issue, it is a foundational threat to global stability and UK security.
The report highlights how global biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse will impact people in the UK, driving higher food and energy prices, destabilising economies, and intensifying geopolitical competition for scarce resources.
Among the key drivers of nature loss, deforestation is one of the most urgent. Forests support millions of Indigenous peoples and other local communities, harbour the majority of terrestrial biodiversity, regulate climate systems, and underpin global food and water cycles. Yet tropical forests, including the Amazon, Congo Basin, and Southeast Asian forests, continue to be cleared at alarming rates, threatening biodiversity, ecosystem services, and pushing the planet closer to irreversible tipping points. And the report highlights these eco-systems as “particularly significant” for UK security.
The UK contributes to global deforestation through trade and finance. Since the Environment Act was passed in November 2021, UK imports of beef, soy, palm oil, and other “forest-risk” commodities have been linked to over 39,300 hectares of deforestation, an area larger than the New Forest (Global Witness).
While the Act bans products from illegally deforested land, this measure has yet to come into force due to government delays. Meanwhile, UK financial institutions have provided more than $1.2 billion in financing to “forest-risk” companies since the Paris Agreement, including HSBC, Aberdeen Group, and Schroders (Global Witness).
Public support for action is strong. Polling in October 2025 by More in Common for Global Witness and WWF-UK found that 76% of Britons support the UK’s commitment to end deforestation by 2030, including a majority of Reform voters (Global Witness).
“By failing to act on deforestation, the UK government is endangering national security and driving up future costs of living. The destruction of the world’s forests is already reshaping geopolitics, threatening food supplies and destabilising societies.“ Alexandria Reid, Global Witness, and Associate Fellow, Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI)
“The UK government now recognises rainforest collapse as a national security risk. If it is serious about reducing that risk, it must also invest directly in the Indigenous and local communities keeping these ecosystems standing.” Natalie Klepacova, Advocacy and Engagement Executive, Cool Earth
“This report must be a wake-up call for the UK government: biodiversity loss is a clear threat to national and global security. The UK must act urgently to strengthen and implement the Environment Act in order to protect the world’s remaining forests by addressing the part UK consumption plays in their destruction.” Fyfe Strachan, Policy & Communications Lead, Earthsight
“Global forests are being driven to collapse by industrial food production, which the UK government report warns is risking our national security. The delays in a robust legislative mechanism are now unacceptable given what the report says is coming down the track. There has to be a clear and urgent plan to keep forests standing and end deforestation consumption in the UK.” Gemma Hoskins, Global Climate Director, Mighty Earth
“The UK government’s own assessment warns that global ecosystem collapse is a serious threat to national security. That recognition brings responsibility: the UK must act now, with strong legislation to end the consumption and financial practices that drive global deforestation and human rights abuses worldwide.” Vanessa Richardson, Senior Forests Campaigner, Environmental Investigation Agency
Call to action
The NGO Forest Coalition calls on the UK government to implement Schedule 17 of the Environment Act, which will prohibit the use of commodities grown on illegally deforested land, and to go further by ending imports of commodities grown on all deforested land. Action must also ensure the rights of Indigenous and local communities who depend on forests for their livelihoods are protected, and stop UK financial flows from driving deforestation, safeguarding forests as a national and global security priority.
About the NGO Forest Coalition
The NGO Forest Coalition is a partnership of leading nature organisations committed to ending global deforestation and protecting biodiversity. Coalition members include Friends of the Earth UK, Cool Earth, Global Witness, WWF, Environmental Investigation Agency, Earthsight, Fern, Mighty Earth, Global Canopy and Rainforest Foundation UK.
NGO Forest Coalition 