Panel Addresses Impact of COP26, Climate Pledges on Security 

By Kristen Fletcher, Faculty Associate-Research, Energy Academic Group

The UN Climate Change Conference —the Conference of the Parties or COP26—brought parties together for the first two weeks of November to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Countries were asked to come forward with ambitious 2030 emissions reductions targets—known as Nationally Determined Contributions or NDCs—that align with reaching net zero emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050.

On 17 November, the Climate and Security Network hosted a panel to hear perspectives on what was accomplished at COP26 and what it means for the work of DoD and the Navy. Jennifer DeCesaro, Director for Climate Security and Resilience at the National Security Council and Erin Sikorsky, Director of the Center for Climate and Security were joined by NPS faculty Nick Dew, Tom Murphree and Kristen Fletcher to discuss the outcomes of COP26 from pledges about coal, methane, deforestation and finance to the announcement of PREPARE, the President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience.

Discussion focused on the impact these outcomes will have on climate security going forward. Key outcomes included the importance of tackling climate change as a problem today as well as in the future through both mitigation of emissions and adaptation to climate change. The panel agreed that the security community must better understand the impacts to other countries, especially developing nations, and what is driving their actions related to climate and security. There is also opportunity: DoD and the U.S. can lead by example through reduced emissions and increased technological innovation. In addition, federal agencies can integrate climate change science and understanding into security strategies, curriculum and training in order to stabilize these efforts and create a climate-literate force.