December 15, 2020
Biden’s Intelligence Community Must Focus On Climate Crisis
President Elect Biden has signaled that he is going to treat the climate crisis as a national security issue by appointing John Kerry as his Special Envoy for Climate and making him a member of the National Security Council. For Kerry to succeed, he will need intelligence. The climate crisis is a national security issue and the Intelligence Community (IC) must respond with the same focus and investments it makes into other national security issues.
The incoming Biden administration can do much to address climate change as a national security issue.
Not only does climate change create significant security threats to America through multiplying global instability, it is also a major component of the great power competition with China and Russia. The incoming Biden administration can do much to address climate change as a national security issue. An important first step would be to make changes in the IC so it has the capabilities and focus to help policy makers preserve American interests.
Read the full article in Breaking Defense.
More from CNAS
-
Commentary
Energy, Economics & Security / Technology & National Security
Beyond Bans: Expanding the Policy Options for Tech-Security ThreatsStuck between a rock (the fact that banning all Chinese tech that poses a risk is expensive and impractical) and a hard place (the fact that many existing mitigation proposals...
By Geoffrey Gertz
-
Reports
Indo-Pacific Security / Technology & National Security
Cyber Crossroads in the Indo-PacificThe Indo-Pacific faces a cyber crossroads. Down one path lies deeper military, intelligence, and economic ties between Washington and its key allies and partners in this strat...
By Vivek Chilukuri, Lisa Curtis, Janet Egan, Morgan Peirce, Elizabeth Whatcott & Nathaniel Schochet
-
Commentary
Technology & National Security
Securing America’s AI Future: Federal Research and Development PrioritiesOn April 29, 2025, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) issued a Request for Information on the Development of a 2025 National Artificial Intelligenc...
By Caleb Withers & Spencer Michaels
-
Video
Middle East Security / Technology & National Security
‘We Want Peace’: How Attacks Between Israel and Iran Could Impact People in NCRetired Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan is an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for New American Security. Shanahan provided some context on how the two Middle East countries got her...
By Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan
