Call for Applications: Gordon R. Sullivan Climate and Ecological Security Fellowship 2024-2025
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 2024-2025 Gordon R. Sullivan Climate and Ecological Security Fellowship (Sullivan Fellowship).
The Sullivan Fellowship is the latest iteration of CCS’s fellowship programming, and is the preeminent opportunity of its kind to forge the next generation of climate-informed national security practitioners. It is named in honor of CCS Advisory Board Member General Gordon Sullivan, US Army (Ret.), who passed away in 2024 after a distinguished military career and was an early champion of integrating climate and environmental concerns in US national security.
From hands-on exercises with peers across the national, international, and climate security communities to engaging with guest speakers at the top of the field, Sullivan Fellows form a powerful cadre of expert voices able to make propulsive policy changes.
The Sullivan Fellowship will run for nine months (October 2024 – June 2025). Applicants will attend monthly two-hour sessions, some of which will be conducted virtually and some of which will be held in person at the CCS offices in Farragut Square (Washington, D.C.). Sessions will include small group presentations, guest speakers, and structured discussions exploring different aspects of climate security, such as climate finance, food and water security, military and intelligence services, and strategic competition.
Fellowship Details and Application Instructions
Eligibility: Applicants must be a US citizen. Have between one and five years of professional experience in the field of climate change, environment, and/or national/international security. Have a proven interest in pursuing a career related to the nexus of these fields. Be located in the Washington, D.C. metro region and able to attend regular in-person meetings.
Attendance: Fellows must attend and actively participate in at least seven out of nine fellowship sessions to use the credential “2024-2025 Sullivan Fellow” after the program ends. Fellows should plan to be available both virtually and in person on the third Thursday of every month from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Application Instructions: All applicants should complete an application form (below) and provide a 1-page resume, 1-page cover letter, and a short response (200-400 words) to the following question: “What is a security risk related to climate change that you think is underappreciated by US policymakers, and why?”
Applications are due by 5 p.m. EDT on September 9, 2024.
CSR is an equal opportunity employer. We will not discriminate and will take affirmative action measures to ensure against discrimination in employment, recruitment, advertisements for employment, compensation, termination, upgrading, promotions, and other conditions of employment against any employee, job applicant, subcontractor, prospective subcontractor, volunteer or prospective volunteer on the bases of race, color, gender, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.
Nexus25 Project Releases Climate Security Policy Briefs & Analysis
This past month, the Nexus25 Project, a joint Center for Climate and Security-Istituto Affari Internazionali initiative, released a set of products in partnership with its global collaborators focused on debriefing recent events in the climate security space. This includes:
- A new Reshaping Multilateralism podcast episode focusing on the EU elections and the future of European climate policy, featuring:
- Mr. Tony Agatha, the EU’s Principal Advisor on Climate Diplomacy;
- Dr. Ricardo Borges de Castro, a Senior Advisor to the European Policy Centre;
- Dr. Heather Grabbe, a senior fellow at Bruegel.
- “The G7, South Africa and the Sustainable Climate Agenda for Africa,” a commentary reflecting on South Africa’s ongoing G7 presidency from the team at the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA);
- “Climate Security at NATO: Looking Beyond Today’s Wars,” a reflection on the NATO Summit from Dr. Louise van Schaik, the head of the EU and Global Affairs Unit at the Netherlands’ Clingendael Institute;
- A policy brief offering a preview of the upcoming UN Summit from the Future from Nexus25 contributor, Thin Lei Win.
Recent Nexus25 products can be found on the project website here. For more information on the project, please contact the Center for Climate and Security’s Nexus25 staff (Erin Sikorsky and Siena Cicarelli) or the full team at info@nexus25.org.
July 2024 Update: Military Responses to Climate Hazards (MiRCH) Tracker
By Ethan Wong
In July 2024, the Military Responses to Climate Hazards (MiRCH) tracker identified 14 countries where militaries deployed in response to climate hazards, including Italy, Liberia, North Macedonia, the Philippines, the United States, and elsewhere. The tracker documented 26 incidents in total, with deployments responding to hurricanes and typhoons, drought, flooding, and wildfires.
(more…)Workshop Readout: Clean Energy is National Security (ROK)
By Ethan Wong and Lily Boland
Introduction
On 13 June 2024, the Council on Strategic Risks (CSR) facilitated a one-day tabletop scenario exercise in Seoul on the national security implications of the energy transition and continued dependence on fossil fuels for South Korea. The energy security of countries that rely heavily on fossil fuel imports, such as South Korea, is increasingly challenged by climate hazards, conflict, and economic shocks. At the same time, the transition to clean energy sources can provide opportunities to enhance national security. This workshop follows a similar exercise that CSR developed and ran in Tokyo.1 It is part of a project that aims to engage South Korean, Japanese, and American security and foreign affairs leaders in an exploration of these risks and opportunities.
The Honorable John Conger, Director Emeritus at the Center for Climate and Security and former Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), provided keynote framing remarks and participated throughout the exercise. Ellen Laipson, Director of the International Security Program at George Mason University, former Vice Chair of the National Intelligence Council, and a member of the Center for Climate and Security Advisory Board, also joined the exercise and provided closing remarks.
The event was held under Chatham House Rule and featured participation from the Korean Institute for Defense Analyses, Sejong Institute, Seoul National University, other think tanks and academia, and the US Embassy in Seoul. Participants were split into two teams and assigned different scenarios (see Annex 1), one acute crisis and one slow-onset crisis, that they had to address throughout the workshop.
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