Today we celebrate the release of CCS Director Erin Sikorsky’s new book, Climate Change on the Battlefield: International Military Responses to the Climate Crisis. The book is a comparative look at how militaries worldwide are approaching the security risks of climate change. It begins by exploring how climate affects military readiness, increases demand on militaries for disaster response, and hampers existing military missions. It then includes case studies of China, France, Kenya, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, comparing countries that are layering or integrating climate into their current strategies versus those taking a more transformative view of how climate is changing their militaries’ role. The book also looks at NATO and the African Union.
Sikorsky’s bottom line is that despite progress, most governments and militaries still underestimate the impact climate change will have on the security landscape. Many rely on outdated assumptions regarding climate and the environment, and the book makes a range of recommendations for the future.
Climate Change on the Battlefield adds to a growing list of books by CCS staff, board members, and non-resident fellows, including:
- States and Nature, by Dr. Josh Busby, CCS Non-Resident Fellow and professor of public affairs at the University of Texas at Austin LBJ School of Public Affairs.
- Threat Multiplier, by Sherri Goodman, CCS Advisory Board member, and Council on Strategic Risks board chair.
- The Fight for Climate after COVID-19 and Building a Resilient Tomorrow by Alice Hill, CCS Advisory Board member and David M. Rubenstein senior fellow for energy and the environment at the Council on Foreign Relations.
- Weaponizing Water by Dr. Marcus King, CCS Advisory Board member and Director of the MS in Environmental and International Affairs program at Georgetown University.
- The Climate General by General Tom Middendorp (ret), CCS Advisory Board member and chair of the International Military Council on Climate and Security.
- Considering Climate Change (out 31 July) by Dr. Kimberely Miner, CCS Non-Resident Fellow and earth scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
- China’s Next Act, by Dr. Scott Moore, CCS Non-Resident Fellow and Practice Professor of Political Science and Director of the Penn Global Climate Security and Geopolitics Project at the University of Pennsylvania.
- The Heat and the Fury by Peter Schwartzstein, CCS non-resident fellow and environmental journalist.
- Climate Hazard Crises in Asian Societies and Environments edited by Dr. Troy Sternberg, CCS Advisory Board member and researcher at the School of Geography, Oxford University. The book includes a chapter by CCS founders Francesco Femia and Caitlin Werrel.