Program
Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics
The Geopolitical Consequences of Climate Change

Climate change is forcing a rethink of the strategic frameworks and assumptions that underlie security policies, as sea levels and temperatures rise. The responses to climate change are also changing the landscape for foreign and security policymakers, with various resources, institutions, and technologies rising or falling in importance. This project analyzes what security means in a 21st century defined by climate change.

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Climate Change Poses a Hidden Challenge to NATO Nuclear Deterrence

NATO bases with nuclear-capable aircraft need to adapt to challenges posed by wildfires, flash flooding, extreme heat, and other climate-related disasters.

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Protecting Mexico’s Environmental Defenders: A Policy Imperative

Mexico’s Indigenous communities fight climate change and defend precious ecosystems, but they receive little protection from violence and legal threats. International policymakers should safeguard the contributions of Indigenous people worldwide, including in Mexico.

  • Anjan Sundaram
· January 29, 2024
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Five Trends in Decarbonization That Are Shaping Global Politics

These trends, including the rise of China as an electric vehicle exporter and the recent innovations in battery chemistry, could emerge as drivers of change over the next decade.

  • Nat Bullard
· November 9, 2023
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Good News in a Climate Crisis
October 3, 2023

A discussion of the positive news coming out of the green transition like the rapid spread of electric vehicles and solar panels and the recent decline in Amazon Rainforest deforestation.

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The Fish That Ate an Agreement: How Migrating Mackerel Undermine International Fisheries Cooperation

The breakdown of cooperation among a group of coastal states regarding the allocation of mackerel provides a cautionary tale about the limits of international collective action in response to climate change.

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· July 18, 2023
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How Climate Change Will Reshape Economic Statecraft

The fight against climate change will fuel the emergence of new types of sanctions, tariffs, and export controls. In retaliation against these measures, China and Russia could weaponize access to critical minerals, posing a threat to U.S. national security.

  • Agathe Demarais
· June 20, 2023
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Carnegie Connects: Is It Too Late To Save the Planet?
May 10, 2023

Join Aaron David Miller as he sits down with Sue Biniaz, the U.S. Deputy Special Envoy for Climate Change, to discuss what the United States and others in the international community do to deal with the global climate crisis.

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Friendshoring Critical Minerals: What Could the U.S. and Its Partners Produce?

Given existing reserves, it is possible for the United States and its key democratic partners to significantly friendshore the production of critical minerals. However, it would require an unprecedented buildout of the mining industry to achieve clean energy targets for 2030.

· May 3, 2023
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What More Climate Disasters Mean for U.S. National Security

An increase in climate-driven disasters, particularly hurricanes, results in four major risks for U.S. national security. To address these risks, the government must build a more equitable and responsive national disaster-recovery policy.

· April 10, 2023
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The Great Displacement: Climate Migration in America
March 20, 2023

Join the Carnegie Endowment online for a conversation between Jake Bittle, a staff writer at Grist and the author of The Great Displacement: Climate Change and the Next American Migration.

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Advancing the Clean Energy Transition in 2023: A Conversation With Assistant Secretary Pyatt
January 25, 2023

As we begin 2023, the Biden administration is working to accelerate the clean energy transition, address global supply chain shocks, and counter Russia’s weaponization of energy—which has produced global energy supply distortions.

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Economic Development in an Era of Climate Change

Climate change will radically alter how poor countries pursue economic development—with ramifications for national development strategies, the field of global development, and the shape of international security.

  • Laurence Chandy
· January 4, 2023