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Event Summary: Arctic Security – A Tabletop Game for the World House Student Fellows Program

By Ethan Wong

On February 23, The Center for Climate and Security (CCS) facilitated an Arctic security scenario exercise for the World House Student Fellows Program at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perry World House. The tabletop game was designed to educate future decision makers on the ways in which climate change intersects with existing security risks, and to encourage innovative and rational decision-making given rising uncertainties and time restrictions.

Students engage in tabletop exercise to assess their decision-making skills during high-risk scenarios. (Perry World House / University of Pennsylvania)

The crisis response game was set in 2030 and centered around an environmental crisis in the Arctic amidst brewing geopolitical tensions featuring military exercises, oil spills, gray-zone activities, and ecosystem changes due to rising temperatures. The student fellows took on the role of three different teams, Blue, Red and Green, representing NATO, Russia, and the international community, respectively. Throughout the exercise, teams competed and worked to tackle the ongoing crisis that was exacerbated by “injects,” or wildcard events, such as severe natural disasters and suspicious military incidents. Over the course of several turns, students debated policies, sent and received intelligence, and formulated political and military responses that contributed to the evolving situation in the Arctic.

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Supporting Sustainable Security in a Hot and Hungry World


Policymakers are increasingly acknowledging the impact of transnational challenges, such as food and climate issues, on driving conflicts. The global famine has reached unprecedented levels, highlighting the intricate connections between hunger, climate change, and global security. The escalating violence in Africa, the Middle East, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, coupled with the visible impact of climate change, exacerbates global food insecurity.

Despite the challenges, food presents an opportunity for multilateral cooperation. The process of mainstreaming food security into multilateral processes has begun, but significant gaps remain, particularly in the limited allocation of climate finance to green transitions in food systems.

This paper emphasizes the long-term and systemic nature of food security challenges, driven by development, security, governance, and environmental factors. Conflict can worsen hunger, and food insecurity can increase security risks, particularly for vulnerable populations. In addition, terrorist organizations may use food as a means of recruitment and control.

Therefore, it is important to integrate food security into interventions and climate finance efforts, and to have a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between food security, climate risks, political instability, and conflict. To move forward, it is important to recognize food as a predictive tool, shift away from donor-driven approaches, and discourage policy silos in order to address the intersection of hunger, climate, and security.

The Center for Climate and Security Joins Nexus25 Project as it Launches Phase 2, Hosts MSC Side Event

By Siena Cicarelli

On February 16, 2024, the Nexus25 project organized an official side event at the Munich Security Conference, marking the official launch of Phase 2 of the project. The discussion, co-hosted with the UN World Food Programme (WFP), brought together leaders from government, multilateral organizations, civil society, security institutions and the private sector to discuss the links between hunger, climate and sustainable security. 

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Call for Applications: Youth-Led Visions for a Climate-Secure Pacific

By Elsa Barron

Climate change increasingly risks Pacific security and sovereignty on land and sea due to sea level rise, a warming ocean, disaster, and displacement. These challenges are no longer the problems of the future– they are some of the largest risks of today. Addressing these challenges in the Pacific will require understanding and partnership between the leaders of today and the leaders of tomorrow. In building toward a better future, we are calling for perspectives from young people from Aotearoa New Zealand, Niue, the Cook Islands, and the United States on addressing interconnected climate and security challenges. 

The Center for Climate and Security, with support from the U.S. Mission to New Zealand, is launching a call for video applications that answer the question: “What is your vision of a climate-secure Pacific?” Selected videos will be showcased as a part of a social media campaign and 6-8 winners will be invited on a fully-funded three-day trip to Wellington, New Zealand where they will have the chance to meet with policymakers, organizations, and community groups working on these issues and present their visions of a positive future. If you are selected, this program will help to build your public voice on climate risks and solutions and catalyze relationships between you and other like-minded young people around the world. 

Read the full Call for Applications and apply here.