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Must Watch: Dr. Chad Briggs on Climate Security Then and Now
HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, HAWAII (Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Shane A. Cuomo)
In case you missed it, Dr. Chad Briggs recently gave a keynote address, “Making Your Own Fate: Climate Risks and Planning for Security,” at the 11th Annual Trudeau Foundation Conference, Weathering Change Pathways to Sustainability In Canada. The conference asked “executives from the insurance and financial sectors, social entrepreneurs, an advisor to the US military, energy experts, and some of Canada’s top economists to take a hard look at such topics as food security, the future of international governance arrangements, and Canada’s energy landscape.” All presentations from the conference can be found here. (more…)
Top Climate Security Implications for Latin America: A Regional Breakdown
Severe flooding is one of many devastating effects of
climate change, as the Caribbean island nation Dominica experienced in
2011. Credit: Desmond Brown/IPS
By Lieutenant Commander Oliver-Leighton Barrett, U.S. Navy (ret) Senior Research Fellow, The Center for Climate and Security
From December 1-12, world leaders are meeting in Lima, Peru to lay the groundwork for a global agreement on climate change. But aside from being a setting for this round of international climate talks, the Latin American region is facing significant security and development threats from climate change that are not often reported.
Climate change is a stressor that will compound, and already is compounding, vexing preexisting developmental challenges across the regions’ states – testing governments to the limits of their capacities and affecting populations in diverse ways. While this “stressor” is becoming better appreciated by development stakeholders, a dimension that is not as well-appreciated is the impact climatic and environmental shifts will have on states’ security in general, and on the operations of regional militaries more specifically. Below is a sub-regional breakdown – a sort of “get to the point” compilation – of the implications of climate change on this growing, dynamic and increasingly relevant region of the globe. The compilation draws from and builds on a joint military assessment I contributed to as a consultant for U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM). The geographic categories below reflect a structure commonly used in the U.S defense sector. (more…)
Capt. Toll and RADM Titley: The climate threat to Hampton Roads
Old Dominion University (ODU) recently hosted a Preparedness and Resilience Exercise for Hampton Roads. The event was led by the National Security Council with support from the FEMA National Exercise Division, and used a scenario exercise tailored to the region and designed to reinforce “work already underway locally on sea level rise, extreme storm surge and recurrent flooding.” The exercise included participation from local, state and federal government, private businesses, academic and community partners.
On a related note, Captain Ray Toll, USN (Ret) and CCS Advisory Board member, Rear Admiral David Titley, USN (Ret), wrote an Op-ed in the Virginian Pilot titled “The threat in Hampton Roads.” The Op-ed includes points brought up during the Dec. 2 exercise at ODU. (more…)
Mark Your Calendars: Climate Security Events On the Horizon
Below is a list of upcoming climate and security events, mostly in the Washington, DC area. For those of you outside the beltway, many of these events will be webcast. (more…)