UK has ‘no future’ if it fails to act on ecosystem collapse threatening national security

Food shortages could hit the UK within five years as a result of the collapse of overseas ecosystems, according to the report. Photograph: James Veysey/Shutterstock View image in fullscreen Food shortages could hit the UK within five years as a result of the collapse of overseas ecosystems, according to the report. Photograph: James Veysey/Shutterstock UK has ‘no future’ if it fails to act on ecosystem collapse threatening national security MPs demand publication of full report that outlines catastrophic consequences amid concerns for food security Members of parliament have demanded full publication of an explosive report by the UK’s spy leaders that found the collapse of ecosystems overseas would have catastrophic consequences for the UK’s national security, warning that the UK has “no future” if the findings are not urgently acted on. Despite growing concerns for the UK’s food security, likely to be worsened by the third heatwave this summer currently afflicting the UK and swathes of the northern hemisphere, the government has refused to publish the full report, which has circulated among defence officials for more than a year. The report paints a devastating picture of severe food shortages, price rises, migration, political destabilisation and possible war, resulting from the collapse of ecosystems, fuelled by the human-induced climate crisis and over-exploitation, as the Guardian has previously revealed . Food shortages could result within five years. Scramble for biofuel as oil prices rise ‘could push world closer to food crisis’ Read more MPs on the environmental audit committee, who held a hearing on the report on Wednesday afternoon, also warned that the government was failing to “join the dots” between the national security threat posed by the climate crisis and the collapse of species, and swingeing cuts to the overseas aid and climate finance budgets. Mary Creagh, minister for the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs, told MPs at the hearing that a redacted 14-page version of some findings, published after repeated freedom of information requests in January, should provide enough information. The Cabinet Office, also responsible for the cross-government report, refused to send a minister or official. Toby Perkins, chair of the committee, said he was “disappointed” not to see the full version. “It’s a disappointing signal, and it would be a positive sign if we could cooperate on a response to the findings,” he said. “The minister clearly does appreciate the scale of this crisis. But I remain of the view that the government has more to do to grasp the urgency of the moment.” View image in fullscreen Toby Perkins says the government ‘has more to do to grasp the urgency of the moment’. Photograph: Rick Findler/PA Chris Hinchliff, the Labour MP, and a member of the committee, contrasted the £15bn to be added to the defence budget with the lack of funding to protect critical ecosystems. “The government can summon billions of po