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Watch: The Iran War: Implications for Food, Water, and Energy Security
In case you missed it, watch the recent webinar where experts from the Center for Climate and Security discuss the energy, water, and food implications of the ongoing war in Iran. The discussion was moderated by CCS Director Erin Sikorsky and featured speakers Tom Ellison, CCS Deputy Director, Swathi Veeravalli, CCS Advisory Board Member, and CCS Non-resident Fellows Dr. Cullen Hendrix, Peter Schwartzstein, and Dr. Marcus D. King.
The War in Iran Exemplifies the National Security Rationale for Renewables
Among its many implications, the US-Israeli war against Iran exposes energy risks for countries reliant on fossil fuel imports from the Middle East, underscoring the energy security benefits of clean energy. The widening conflict, including the blockage of the oil and gas chokepoint at the Strait of Hormuz, is potentially the most disruptive conflict to the energy market since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. With oil and gas prices spiking and no clear end to the conflict, market analysts predict potential long-term disruptions to the energy supply chain, which would add further uncertainty to an already unstable geopolitical situation. Countries that react to this moment by seeking to stockpile or shift suppliers of oil and LNG simply exchange short-term energy security for long-term vulnerability, prolonging their exposure to geopolitical shocks and failing to meet their increasing energy demands.
Countries in East Asia, such as South Korea, Japan, and China, are especially reliant on oil and LNG from the Middle East, the loss of which will have significant impacts on their economies. In contrast, the falling prices, improved resilience, and strategic autonomy offered by renewable sources make them a secure option for countries looking to minimize their exposure to risk.
For more, the Center for Climate and Security has hosted “Renewable Energy is National Security” communities of practice across East and Southeast Asia, and you can read outputs from these convenings below:
- Protecting Korea’s National Security with Renewable Energy
- The interrelation of climate change and national security, The Korea Times
- The National Security Rationale for Japan’s Transition to Renewable Energy
- Protecting Japan’s National Security with Renewable Energy
- Indonesia’s Climate Security and Renewable Energy Nexus: A Landscape Assessment
Preparing for Disaster: Climate-Related Provisions in the FY26 NDAA
By John Conger
On December 19, President Trump signed the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which was passed with bipartisan support by Congress.
While the tone of both the Pentagon and Congress has shifted in recent years, and explicit discussion of climate change as a national security issue has been deprioritized, the operational impacts of climate-driven hazards are clearly reflected in this year’s legislation. Where past NDAAs emphasized long-term resilience, Arctic strategy, or climate risk assessments, the FY26 NDAA focuses more narrowly and pragmatically on preparing the force for wildfires and natural disasters that are already affecting military operations, installations, and personnel.
This shift mirrors operational reality. US forces—particularly the National Guard—are increasingly deployed domestically in response to extreme weather events. The Center for Climate and Security tracks these trends through its Military Responses to Climate Hazards (MiRCH) Tracker, which documents the growing tempo and scope of military disaster response missions.
Exploring the Collision of Extreme Weather, Information Manipulation, and Security Threats in Florida
By Tom Ellison, Erin Sikorsky, and Noah Fritzhand
Information manipulation is increasingly recognized as a contributor to climate risks. 2025 saw landmark academic assessments on the topic, as well as the first action on climate information integrity at a UN climate summit. Meanwhile, bad actors take advantage of opportunities to propagandize, sow confusion, and undermine trust as the impacts of climate change intensify and the stakes of policy action grow. These mutually reinforcing challenges jeopardize security and democracy, especially amid volatile geopolitics, rapid change in the technology and media landscape, and US federal reversals on climate policy and information integrity.
This raises questions for a range of US actors amid intensifying extreme weather. How can state and local officials build resilience and respond to emergencies when facing an unsupportive federal government and global, minimally regulated information threats? What are the implications for US military disaster relief and readiness when information manipulation threatens political cohesion and civilian communities? How can journalism or tech policy serve climate security by mitigating mis/disinformation? And how can academia, civil society, and community groups better collaborate to exchange information and expertise?
The Center for Climate and Security (CCS) recently completed a foresight exercise in Florida to explore these questions. Co-hosted by the University of Miami’s Climate Resilience Institute, the event brought together a diverse mix of expertise, including local resilience and emergency management, national security and foreign policy, communications and information integrity, social and natural sciences, and local climate education and activism. Participants heard from senior homeland security and defense speakers, then engaged in a facilitated scenario exercise exploring a plausible extreme weather, information, and national security crisis in Florida. The discussion highlighted several key themes.
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