Center for Climate and Security
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July 2023 Update: Military Responses to Climate Hazards (MiRCH) Tracker
In July 2023, the Military Responses to Climate Hazards (MiRCH) tracker identified 16 countries in which militaries were deployed in response to climate hazards, often multiple times to different regions and types of hazard. The tracker identified 31 deployments total. Additionally, extreme weather events interrupted military activities and destroyed military infrastructure this month, underscoring the…
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The Security Implications of Human-Driven Biotic Eruptions
Introducing the biotic eruption, a tipping point characterized by the atypical increase of species’ populations, biomass, or byproducts. Biotic eruptions are often the result of environmental pollution, wildlife exploitation, or species introductions. Policymakers should consider these eruptions in a global security context, and take actions accordingly.
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June 2023 Update: Military Responses to Climate Hazards (MiRCH) Tracker
In June, the Military Responses to Climate Hazards (MiRCH) tracker identified 15 instances of military responses to climate change-related hazards across the globe. For much of the month, hundreds of wildfires burned across Canada, leading to the deployment of around 550 troops and associated aircraft equipment to assist in firefighting.
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Leadership in the Polycrisis: How UK Defense Training Can Help Us Navigate a Future of Unprecedented Environmental Disruption
Approaches to leadership development in a defense context—which commonly focus on the ability to operate effectively under intense conditions—might have increasing relevance for civilian leaders wanting to enhance their capacity to respond to this emergent “polycrisis” era.
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Climate Security at the 2023 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund
As noted by the 2022 US National Security Strategy (NSS) 2022, “The climate crisis is the existential challenge of our time.” In this context of enhanced urgency on the crisis, climate change– and its interconnectedness with peace, development, and humanitarian challenges– was a key subject of discussion at the 2023 Spring Meetings of the World…
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The Geopolitics of Climate Change: China and the United States at the UN Security Council
In last week’s meeting, China used its time at the microphone to level a series of pointed comments aimed implicitly at the US and EU. Zhang Jun argued there were three areas in which the UNSC should focus its attention.
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Are We Ready for the Terror Threat Posed by El Niño?
OPINION — Imagine the U.S. government had credible information that a terrorist group was planning attacks in multiple cities across the globe. Attacks that could result in the deaths of hundreds of people, the destruction of critical infrastructure, and military installations. Attacks that could disrupt food and water security for millions and require the deployment of…
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CCS Releases New Tool: Military Responses to Climate Hazards Tracker
Militaries are increasingly called upon to assist with wildfires, flood response, and other extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change. CCS is launching a new effort to monitor such actions: the Military Responses to Climate Hazards (MiRCH) Tracker.
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Water Weaponization: Its Forms, Its Use in the Russia-Ukraine War, and What to Do About It
Water has been associated with conflict and cooperation between states since the beginning of recorded history. In ancient Mesopotamia, a conflict over the Euphrates River between two Sumerian cities yielded the world’s first recorded treaty. However, water has just as often been weaponized during conflict—water weaponization being the exploitation of the human need for water,…
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Call for Applications: Climate Security Fellows 2023-2024
The Center for Climate and Security (CCS), an institute of the Council on Strategic Risks, is pleased to announce a call for applications for the 2023-2024 Climate Security Fellowship. In the last few years, extreme weather, food and energy crises, and global competition over clean energy have underscored the security implications of climate change, prompting…