Francesco Femia and Caitlin Werrell

EVENT: Climate Security Risks in the Arctic

by Francesco Femia and Caitlin WerrellMarch 4, 2021March 1, 2021Leave a comment

Join The Center for Climate and Security (CCS) and the Wilson Center for a virtual panel discussion, Climate Security Risks in the Arctic, on 12 March, 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM E.T. RSVP here.

Climate change is rapidly changing the Arctic at the same time that security tensions are heightened across the region. How will future climate impacts affect the security environment, operations, and infrastructure of the region? How do Arctic nations understand the changing risk landscape? How can Arctic nations move forward on a “low tension, high effort” agenda in the climate era?

This panel will feature a high-level discussion on the intersection of climate change and security in the Arctic, followed by a dialogue on opportunities to manage future security risks in the region. Panelists will build on the findings and recommendations of two new reports from CCS and its partners: Climate Change and Security in the Arctic and A Climate Security Plan for Canada.

Watch: IMCCS’s Erin Sikorsky on BBC World News

by Francesco Femia and Caitlin WerrellMarch 2, 2021February 26, 2021Leave a comment

Climate security has featured prominently on the world stage in recent weeks–first at the Munich Security Conference on the day the United States officially rejoined the Paris Agreement and then at the UNSC high-level meeting on climate security chaired by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The IMCCS’s Director, and Center for Climate and Security’s Deputy Director, Erin Sikorsky, joined the BBC World News two times to put these developments in context, and discuss some parts of the world where the climate-security nexus is particularly acute. You can watch her interviews here:

BBC World News – February 19, 2021
BBC World News – February 23, 2021

RELEASE: New Report Calls on Canada to Create a “Climate Security Plan” to Combat Security Threats of Climate Change

by Francesco Femia and Caitlin WerrellFebruary 16, 2021January 15, 2021Leave a comment

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is A-Climate-Security-Plan-for-Canada_COVER-IMAGE-1-790x1024.png

Washington, D.C., February 16, 2021 — The Center for Climate and Security, an institute of the Council on Strategic Risks, released a new report today entitled “A Climate Security Plan for Canada.” This report looks at the challenges of climate change through the frames of Canada’s existing security and climate strategies, recommending that Canada develop a comprehensive plan, coordinated within its federal agencies, to proactively address the security threats and risks posed by climate change.

“Unlike the United States, Canada already has a mature climate strategy, but security threats and responses to those threats can be better integrated into that strategy,” said John Conger, Director of the Center for Climate and Security and a co-author of the report. “And while its security strategy recognizes climate change issues, those threats can be addressed in a more holistic way. The two strategies need to be knitted together to create a coherent climate security strategy.”

“Canada is keenly aware of how climate change is increasing security threats in the Arctic, and has focused its national security establishment – and all of its Arctic policies – on addressing those threats. Climate change will affect Canadian security interests across the board, domestically and internationally, from more disasters to instability and conflict risk. This plan sets out how the Government of Canada can meet these threats,” said Shiloh Fetzek, Senior Fellow for International Affairs at the Center for Climate and Security and a co-author of the report.

RELEASE: International Military Council Issues Reports Urging Action to Drastically Reduce Emissions and Prepare for Escalating Climate Risks in Asia

by Francesco Femia and Caitlin WerrellFebruary 3, 2021February 4, 2021Leave a comment

Washington, D.C. Feb 3, 2021 — Today, the Expert Group of the International Military Council on Climate and Security (IMCCS) released two new reports, one on South Asia and the other on Southeast Asia, warning that climate change is threatening stability and security in the region, and calling for urgent action to both drastically reduce carbon emissions and prevent climate security risks.

The IMCCS is a group of senior military leaders, security experts, and security institutions across the globe – currently hailing from 38 countries in every hemisphere – dedicated to anticipating, analyzing, and addressing the security risks of a changing climate. The IMCCS is administered by the Center for Climate and Security, an institute of the Council on Strategic Risks, with the participation of a consortium of international partners. The two new reports complement two previously released documents, The World Climate and Security Report 2020 and Climate and Security in the Indo-Asia Pacific, with an added emphasis on the energy-climate-security nexus.

RELEASE: New Report by Security Experts Warns of “Great Power Conflict” Potential in Arctic if Climate Change Uncurbed

by Francesco Femia and Caitlin WerrellJanuary 27, 2021Leave a comment

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Climate-Change-and-Security-and-the-Arctic_Cover-Image_2021-e1610049934390-790x1024.png

Washington DC, January 27, 2021 — A new report, Climate Change and Security in the Arctic, released today by the Center for Climate and Security (CCS), an Institute of the Council on Strategic Risks (CSR), together with the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), assesses the growing security risks posed by a warming climate in one of the most rapidly changing regions on Earth. The report concludes that the risks posed by uncurbed warming include the potential for new conflicts, the breakdown of multilateral cooperation, and rising great power tensions. The analysis looks at two future warming scenarios (curbed and uncurbed) to project security threats alongside potential environmental changes deemed likely in the High North by 2030.

The analysis identifies a number of key Arctic climate security risks across both warming scenarios, but notes that the risks are more severe and more likely in an “uncurbed” warming scenario. In a “curbed” scenario in which the world takes rapid action to curb climate change, including by transforming energy use, decarbonizing the global economy, and building international institutions to manage climate risks, the Arctic is likely to see fewer opportunities for severe security risks. The report recommends integrating this climate risk analysis into Arctic planning strategies into the coming years, and avoiding the uncurbed warming scenario.

The IMCCS Welcomes Erin Sikorsky as its New Director

by Francesco Femia and Caitlin WerrellDecember 17, 2020December 11, 2020Leave a comment

The International Military Council on Climate and Security (IMCCS) is delighted to welcome Erin Sikorsky as its new Director. As head of the IMCCS Secretariat, Ms. Sikorsky will be leading IMCCS operations, supported by Kate Guy, IMCCS Deputy Director. She will also be supporting Sherri Goodman, Secretary General of the IMCCS, and General Middendorp, Chair of the IMCCS, in their leadership of the IMCCS – a robust network of military and security experts concerned about climate change. Ms. Sikorsky will also serve as Deputy Director of the Center for Climate and Security (CCS), an institute of the Council on Strategic Risks (CSR).

Previously, she was the Deputy Director of the Strategic Futures Group on the US National Intelligence Council (NIC), where she co-authored the quadrennial Global Trends report and led the US intelligence community’s environmental and climate security analysis. She is also the founding chair of the Climate Security Advisory Council, a Congressionally-mandated group designed to facilitate coordination between the intelligence community and US government scientific agencies on climate security matters. Ms. Sikorsky worked in the US intelligence community for over a decade. Prior to joining the NIC, she led teams covering a range of issues related to the Middle East and Africa. Ms. Sikorsky earned a Master of International Affairs at Columbia University, and a B.A. in government from Smith College.

Ms. Sikorsky brings an incredible depth of experience and expertise on climate security to the IMCCS, and we could not be more thrilled to work with her.

European External Action Service building a Climate Change and Defence Roadmap

by Francesco Femia and Caitlin WerrellDecember 10, 2020December 8, 2020Leave a comment

This is a cross-post from the Planetary Security Initiative

In an attempt to address the links between climate change and defence, the European External Action Service (EEAS) has submitted a Climate Change and Defence Roadmap. With this roadmap, the EEAS proposes to integrate climate change into the defence actions of the EU, including in the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) – while contributing to the wider Climate-Security Nexus.

In Case You Missed It: A Summary of the Latest Climate Science Information (and Its Security Implications)

by Francesco Femia and Caitlin WerrellDecember 2, 2020October 27, 2020Leave a comment

By Patrick Gruban (originally posted to Flickr as UN Security Council)[CC-BY-SA-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

By Dr. Marc Kodack

In case you missed it, the World Meteorological Organization brought together multiple entities, including United Nations-affiliated organizations and others, to publish their collective information on the latest climate science at the end of the summer. Each organization wrote one or more chapters. The overall messages from these chapters include that greenhouse gases continued to increase in 2020 from 2019 despite a small reduction in the increase because of the COVID-19 pandemic; Paris Agreement greenhouse has emissions goals are not being met; the sea level is rising faster than the long-term average; the period 2016-2020 will likely be the warmest five years on record; and the extent of Arctic sea-ice continues to decrease with warming over the next five years continuing at twice the overall rate elsewhere around the globe.

RELEASE: New Report from Military Leaders Urges Brazil to Make Climate Change and Counter-Deforestation a “Security Priority”

by Francesco Femia and Caitlin WerrellNovember 30, 2020November 27, 20201 Comment

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Climate-and-Security-in-Brazil-Report-Cover-790x1024.png

Washington, DC, November, 30 2020 – The Expert Group of the International Military Council on Climate and Security (IMCCS) released a new report today urging Brazilian leaders to make climate change and counter-deforestation a “security priority,” and to “climate-proof” the nation’s security. The IMCCS is a group of senior military leaders, security experts, and security institutions across the globe – currently hailing from 38 countries in every hemisphere – dedicated to anticipating, analyzing, and addressing the security risks of a changing climate. The IMCCS is administered by the Center for Climate and Security, an institute of the Council on Strategic Risks, with the participation of a consortium of international partners.

How to Prioritize Climate Change in U.S. National Security

by Francesco Femia and Caitlin WerrellNovember 27, 2020November 27, 2020Leave a comment

By Kate Guy

From the outset of Joe Biden’s run for the American presidency, he pledged to look at national security with fresh eyes. Evolving systemic threats like climate change, often relegated to the portfolios of environmental experts and science agencies, were repeatedly mentioned in his plans to remake U.S. defense and foreign policy. “Climate change is the existential threat to humanity,” he often reiterated in the closing days of his campaign.

Now, with the first members of President-elect Biden’s national security team announced, it’s clear that he has taken the first steps to make good on these campaign promises. In the past few years, nominees like Blinken, Sullivan, and Haines have each referenced the need for the U.S. to prioritize addressing climate change in its approach to global challenges. And with the creation of a cabinet-level Presidential Climate Envoy, long-time climate security leader John Kerry will sit in every meeting of the National Security Council with his eye trained on climate threats.