The destabilizing effects of global climate change represent key security challenges for the United States. These challenges are manifested at both the strategic level, in how climate impacts are fueling global trends like instability and mass migration, and at the tactical level, as climate change threatens critical national security infrastructure like military installations. How the United States adapts to the impacts of climate and works to mitigate further climate change has key implications for military readiness, industrial policy, and the resilience of communities across the country and around the world. 

To discuss the key intersection between climate and security, host Gareth Smythe sat down with Kate Gordon, who just completed a two-year tenure as the Senior Advisor to Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm. Kate has spent the past two decades working at the intersection of climate change, energy policy, and economic development, and is a prominent voice knitting these important aspects together into a cohesive response. Kate and Gareth discuss the place-based impacts of climate change, how climate impacts present strategic and tactical challenges to security, the role of the military in climate adaptation and resilience, how the Department of Energy’s place at the forefront of America’s 21st Century Industrial Policy can support the Department of Defense’s industrial policy work, and the role of US allies, partners, and even potential adversaries in advancing climate security.