The Center for Climate and Security Announces New Director, John Conger
The Center for Climate and Security (CCS) is pleased to announce John Conger as its new Director. Mr. Conger will oversee all of the Center’s programs, and chair the Climate and Security Advisory Group. He previously served as Senior Policy Advisor with CCS, and as the Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) at the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). As principal deputy comptroller, Mr. Conger assisted the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) in the performance of his or her duties, provided advice to the Secretary of Defense on all budgetary and financial matters, including the development and execution of the DoD’s annual budget of over $500 billion, and oversaw the DoD’s efforts to achieve audit readiness. (more…)
Climate Security Tweets of the Week March 24-30 2018
ARMED FORCES RADIO STUDIO, circa 1960’s. McCadden Place, Hollywood, CA. L-R TSgt. Bill Stewart and Carole Landis, Actress
Here are a list of notable tweets on climate and security matters from the past week. If we’ve missed any, let us know.
@CntrClimSec Clapper, former director @ODNIgov on climate: “That’s an area that the intelligence community, for its part, needs to spend a lot more time on. Climate change is happening…it has huge national security implications.” https://www.wibc.com/news/local-news/clapper-indiana-former-intelligence-dir-shootings-coats-climate-change …
@MCC_Berlin “#Climate protection important for security” – #MCC Director/designated @PIK_Climate Director Edenhofer w/ German Foreign Minister #Maas at @UN in New York. @AuswaertigesAmt https://www.mcc-berlin.net/en/media/press-information/press-release-detail/article/edenhofer-accompanies-foreign-minister-maas-to-united-nations.html
@Menlu_RI During working lunch with Permanent Representatives from Island countries (29/3), Indonesia’s contribution in addressing climate change was deeply recognized in international forum. Pacific island Ambassadors also emphasized Indonesia strategic role as development partner for many developing countries including Pacific Island countries Climate change and its security implications is an issue of paramount importance for Indonesia as part of Island countries.
Pacific Partnership Works to Strengthen Climate Security Preparedness and Cooperation
The Seabees are working in with crewmembers from the hospital ship USNS Mercy in Cambodia supporting Pacific Partnership. Photo by J. Husman
By Lieutenant General Tariq Waseem Ghazi (Ret), Pakistan’s Secretary of Defense from 2005-2007 & Rachel Fleishman, Senior Fellow for Asia Pacific, the Center for Climate and Security
This month a major multinational military exercise, the Pacific Partnership, launches in South and Southeast Asia. At its center is the hospital ship USNS Mercy, with an international team of civilian and military specialists in humanitarian assistance and disaster response. Its mission is to build response capacity in one of the most disaster-prone regions of the world. South Asian nations should initiate a similar joint exercise.
Why? Because climate change is a litmus test. With today’s divisive politics, nations struggle to predict, prevent and prepare for disasters. Collaboration increases the likelihood of success – and strengthens the foundation for peace in the region. (more…)
Climate Security Tweets of the Week
Here are a list of notable tweets on climate and security matters from the past week. If we’ve missed any, let us know.
- @CntrClimSec Friday Editorial: U.S. military prepares for climate change http://jacksonville.com/opinion/20180323/friday-editorial-us-military-prepares-for-climate-change …
@jaxdotcom#ClimateSecurity
- @CntrClimSec AFRICOM Commander on Climate Change: Sahel Receding Almost a Mile Per Year https://climateandsecurity.org/2018/03/16/africom-commander-on-climate-change-sahel-receding-almost-a-mile-per-year/ …
- @GlobalActionPW UNSC brief on Lake Chad Basin security and development,
@Kazakh_Mission cites climate-related displacements that add to already unacceptable regional food insecurity levels. Lake Chad now reduced by 95% and still receding. - @GlobalActionPW At UNSC brief on Lake Chad Basin security and development,
@CarlSkau cites climate change as a “threat multiplier” that increases a variety of vulnerabilities. Adequate capacity for risk assessment urgently needed to inform SC, other UN decisions.
The State of the Field in Climate and Conflict
By Joshua Busby, Senior Research Fellow
This is a cross-post from the Duck of Minerva
After nearly fifteen years of study, what do we know about the relationship between climate change and conflict? I recently attended a Woodrow Wilson Center event organized by the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) on the state of the field. Along with Geoff Dabelko, Halvard Buhaug, and Sherri Goodman, I offered my take on the field (the video is embedded below). (more…)
AFRICOM Commander on Climate Change: Sahel Receding Almost a Mile Per Year
General Waldhauser before the Senate Armed Services Committee addresses climate change in the Sahel, March 13, 2018
During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday, Marine General Thomas D. Walhauser, Commander of U.S. Africa Command (head of all U.S. forces on the African continent, barring Egypt), fielded a question from Sen. Gillibrand regarding the links between climate change, food insecurity and terrorism, and their impacts on AFRICOM’s mission and posture. General Waldhauser noted, in particular, the role of climate change in desertification, stating: “I would say from the climate perspective, is that we have seen the Sahel – the grasslands of the Sahel – recede and become desert almost a mile per year in the last decade or so. This has a significant impact on the herders who have to fight, if you will, for grasslands and water holes and the like.”
Below is General Waldhauser’s full statement on the subject: (more…)
Video, Quotes and Reports from the Climate and National Security Forum 2018
The Climate and Security Advisory Group Panel
The second annual Climate and National Security Forum, titled “A Responsibility to Prepare,” was held on February 26, 2018 on Capitol Hill, Washington DC amid rising concerns across the United States and internationally regarding the security implications of a rapidly-changing climate. The event featured two report releases from the Center for Climate and Security, and a number of senior military and national security leaders highlighting risks and recommendations for the Administration and Congress to consider. Below is a video of the event, links to quotes from report authors/ speakers, a summary of the event from our colleagues at EESI, and the released reports.
Featured Report
Featured Project
