Canadian Sailors unload supplies on board Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. to assist with Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 3rd Class Jay C. Pugh

The Canadian Government’s Global Affairs Canada (a department that includes the country’s foreign affairs, trade and development ministers), held a conference yesterday on  “Climate Change and Security: Fragile States.” The conference included a presentation by the Center for Climate & Security’s Senior Fellow for International Affairs, Shiloh Fetzek, as well an address by the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs,  Stéphane Dion (see below). See Minister Dion’s full remarks here. This address and conference, explicitly focused on the links between climate change and state fragility, follows on the heels of a recent bi-lateral agreement between the United States and Canada to expand cooperation on matters of climate and security.

For a nuanced look at climate and security as it relates to the Arctic and Canada, also see this interview with Dr. Chad Briggs produced by adelphi. (more…)