An Interview with NATO’s Paul Rushton on the Alliance’s Climate Security Efforts
Publisher: New Security Beat
Author(s): Lauren Herzer Risi
Date: 2024
Topics: Climate Change, Conflict Causes, Peace and Security Operations
When senior officials from 32 countries meet in Washington, DC next week for the NATO Summit, deterrence and defense, as well as Ukraine and global partnerships, are at the top of the agenda. As NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg observed at a recent Wilson Center event: “The war in Ukraine demonstrates that our security is not regional, it is global – not least because of the support we know Russia is getting from China and others.”
Under Stoltenberg’s leadership, NATO has recognized that climate change is also reshaping the security landscape. In 2021, NATO launched a Climate Change and Security Action Plan which positions the organization as a leader in understanding and adapting to climate impacts on security. Two years later, the NATO Climate Change and Security Centre of Excellence (CCASCOE) was established in Montreal.