By Erin Sikorsky and Siena Cicarelli
Last week, Center for Climate and Security (CCS) team members traveled to the 2025 Munich Security Conference (MSC) for a series of events on climate security, food security, and other converging risks. As MSC participants grappled with a potential transatlantic rift over Ukraine, the future of democracy, and the international liberal order, non-traditional “problems without passports” including climate change, food insecurity, and AI stubbornly insisted on a seat at the security table – with dozens of side events and mainstage conversations dedicated to tackling these topics. Participants recognized the challenges of the current moment, including the US retreat from international engagement on these topics, and discussed a variety of paths to continue progress, including stronger regional partnerships and new approaches to framing these issues for skeptical audiences. To that end, CCS hosted two official MSC side events dedicated to climate security challenges.
Conversation on Armed Forces in Times of Climate Change
The International Military Council on Climate Security (IMCCS), in partnership with NATO’s Climate Change and Security Centre of Excellence (CCASCOE) and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Change, hosted a conversation focused on how militaries can adapt and prepare for the climate hazards, including stronger storms, more intense heat waves, and melting Arctic ice. Dr. Barbora Šedová kicked off the conversation with an overview of expected climate impacts in the next few decades and how such impacts threaten security for NATO. She was followed by reflections from Gen. Eirik Kristoffersen, Norwegian Chief of Defence, Gen. (ret.), Tom Middendorp, Chair of the IMCCS and former Chief of Defence of the Netherlands, and Erin Sikorsky, Director, Center for Climate and Security, on how militaries can adapt and prepare to manage such risks.
Watch the full video of the on-the-record panel here.
Roots of Resilience: Building Peace in an Era of Food and Climate Shocks
This discussion was hosted by CCS via its Nexus25 project (partnership between CCS and the Istituto Affari Internazionali), and co-organized with the UN World Food Programme. Attendees included leaders from government, multilateral organizations, civil society, security institutions and the private sector to discuss the links between hunger, climate and sustainable security. Panelists included Mauritanian Minister of Defense Hanana Ould Sidi, Norwegian Minister of International Development Åsmund Grøver Aukrust, and German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development State Secretary.
The debate largely focused on the need to strengthen resilience in the face of food and climate crises, with particular attention to the most vulnerable areas, such as Africa and Southeast Asia. Key themes included the political dimensions of food and climate crises, links between food systems shocks and extremism, the shifting role of Europe, and how best to frame these issues for policymakers, particularly those not supportive of climate action or foreign aid.
Beyond these convenings, CCS Director Erin Sikorsky moderated a conversation between Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on a potential US carbon border adjustment mechanism and transatlantic cooperation on such trade policies. Erin also sits on the Munich Security Conference Food Security Task Force, which held numerous events over the weekend.
The team also participated in several external discussions on critical minerals, the role of AI in conflict, energy geopolitics, and food security.
Overall, while this year’s MSC generated considerable uncertainty for the transatlantic community, these conversations highlighted pathways forward that include new ways of framing these issues for skeptical audiences, stronger global partnerships, and emphasizing the connection between international and domestic security priorities. CCS will be carrying many of these topics forward post-MSC, working to bridge the gap between climate science and security actors and highlight the links between food and national security at home and abroad.