On the Verge – Climate Security with Sherri Goodman (008)

By Evan Barnard The concept of climate security is decades-old, but
a new sense of urgency and a renewed interest in the concept have
developed over recent years, not least due to the efforts of CSR’s
Center for Climate and Security. Climate change initially became a
formal security focus for the U.S. after the dissolution of the
Soviet Union, when military efforts began diverting from the
nuclear arms race and standoff. Now, the field is rapidly
developing and receiving greater attention. The inclusion of a
climate security session at the recent U.S.-hosted Leaders Summit
on Climate suggests that world leaders are considering climate
change a security risk in major diplomatic contexts. The Leaders
Summit on Climate was just one of this year's numerous high-level
meetings emphasizing climate security, including the Munich
Security Conference, a UN Security Council high-level debate on
climate and security, and the widely-anticipated COP26 conference
in November. Today, we are sharing the first in a series of three
podcasts reflecting on the upcoming 2021 World Climate and Security
Report from the Expert Group of the International Military Council
on Climate and Security, which builds upon the group’s 2020 World
Climate and Security Report, which was released at that year’s
Munich Security Conference. The report provides an update on the
status of global and regional climate security factors, and details
what climate experts predict will be the most important aspects of
climate security. Before the Leaders Summit on Climate, I discussed
climate security priorities for the military and climate diplomacy
with the Honorable Sherri Goodman. Ms. Goodman is a senior
strategist and advisory board member at the Center for Climate and
Security, chair of the board at the Council on Strategic Risks,
secretary general of the International Military Council on Climate
and Security, and senior fellow at the Wilson Center. At the
inception of the field of climate security, she served as the first
deputy undersecretary of defense for environmental security from
1993 to 2001. The discussion included why the Department of Defense
must cement a reputation as an environmental and clean energy
leader and how the military is already taking steps toward
resilience. Ms. Goodman believes the security sector will have an
important role in the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions and adapt to climate change. The military industrial
complex has an enormous carbon footprint, so the military should
lead by example in emissions reduction and clean energy adoption.
Militaries can make much greater progress toward these goals by
working cooperatively. Most importantly, innovation will enable the
military to develop and implement clean energy and other
technologies, further leading by example and building a climate
domain awareness. Given the social, economic, political, and
national security implications of accelerating climate change, the
time to take action and mitigate and adapt for climate resilience
is now. Ms. Goodman suggests an integrated, societal approach like
the “Three Ds:” development, diplomacy, and defense. Solutions must
be locally-based, because there is no one-size-fits-all solution to
conflicts with climate as a factor. In a 2007 CNA Military Advisory
Report, Ms. Goodman coined the term “threat multiplier.” The term
was used multiple times, including by Special Envoy for Climate
John Kerry, during the Leaders Summit on Climate in terms of
security risks. The term describes how climate change aggravates
existing threats around the world. Modern examples include the
melting Arctic Ocean, where a smaller, thinner icecap is
translating to both economic and national security opportunities
for Arctic nations like the U.S. and Russia as well as interested
traders like China. These Arctic economic and military
opportunities are sculpting a new geostrategic and geopolitical
arena.