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RELEASE: New Report from Military Leaders Urges Brazil to Make Climate Change and Counter-Deforestation a “Security Priority”

Washington, DC, November, 30 2020 –  The Expert Group of the International Military Council on Climate and Security (IMCCS) released a new report today urging Brazilian leaders to make climate change and counter-deforestation a “security priority,” and to “climate-proof” the nation’s security. The IMCCS is a group of senior military leaders, security experts, and security institutions across the globe – currently hailing from 38 countries in every hemisphere – dedicated to anticipating, analyzing, and addressing the security risks of a changing climate. The IMCCS is administered by the Center for Climate and Security, an institute of the Council on Strategic Risks, with the participation of a consortium of international partners. 

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BRIEFER: Brazil – A Climate, Nuclear, and Security Hotspot

By Andrea Rezzonico and Meggen Watt Petersen

Excerpt: This briefer, part of CSR’s series on hotspots experiencing unique combinations of climate, nuclear, and security challenges, examines Brazil’s nuclear developments, environmental challenges, climate change impacts, and socioeconomic landscape. The magnitude of Brazil’s geographic footprint, natural resources, and population helps define the nation as a global power. Yet a growing sense of agitation is rooted alongside the strengths: its pushback against global climate goals; a general public disconcerted by government corruption and increasingly authoritarian actions; a gnawing dissatisfaction with the handling of the pandemic; and a bold assertiveness to prioritize an expensive, indigenous nuclear-powered attack submarine while overlooking what are regarded as perhaps more pressing humanitarian needs. While the country is attempting to manage a multi-layered crisis, it could eventually sink beneath the convergences of these issues and become an alarming case study in what might occur if current institutions are not bolstered to address its growing security threats.

Read the full briefer here.

Admiral Stavridis: Burning Brazil Threatens America’s Security

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Admiral James Stavridis, Commander of SOUTHCOM, July 9 2006

In a recent article published by Bloomberg News, Admiral James Stavridis, USN (Ret), former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO and former commander of U.S. Southern Command – the Area of Responsibility (or AOR) that includes Brazil – makes a compelling case for how the fires in the Brazilian rainforest, and its implications for climate change, are a security issue not just for the country and its neighbors, but for the U.S. as well. He includes a quote from CCS Advisory Board member, Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn, USN (Ret), stating: ‘As my good friend Denny Ginn, formerly the admiral in charge of all Navy installations, has said, “it’s not a matter of if, only a matter of time” before we have a catastrophic event.’ Read the full article here.

Brazil: A Nation’s Churning Waterless Storm

Três Marias Reservoir, Minas Gerais Brazil - Planet Labs Satellite image. The Represa Três Marias, the result of damming the São Francisco river, is one of the largest reservoirs in Brazil. In 2014, Minas Gerais experienced one of the worst droughts of the last 50 years.

Três Marias Reservoir, Minas Gerais Brazil – Planet Labs Satellite image. The Represa Três Marias, the result of damming the São Francisco river, is one of the largest reservoirs in Brazil. In 2014, Minas Gerais experienced one of the worst droughts of the last 50 years.

By Lieutenant Commander Oliver-Leighton Barrett, United States Navy (Retired)
Senior Research Fellow, The Center for Climate and Security

A convergence zone is defined as a location where two or more forces meet – characteristically marked by some form of turmoil. São Paulo, Brazil, home to over 20.1 million people, capital of the world’s 6th largest economy, and one of the most populous cities in the Americas, finds itself in the middle of a convergence zone increasingly being intensified by environmental variability. Brazil’s epic drought (now in its third year) is lamentably one of the most under-reported and least appreciated human security stories this year, but there are crucial insights to be learned from Brazil’s experience. These insights point to a need for policy making that is informed by a more nuanced understanding of the multi-dimensional impacts of climate change on human security and political stability, especially in cities across the Americas. (more…)

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