Strengthening Climate Security Through Enhanced Security Sector Governance

As the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) in Dubai concluded on December 12, the United States and our partners have advanced global efforts to address shared climate challenges.  For two weeks, COP28 participants discussed common challenges for climate and global security and set the stage for effective collaboration.

The United States recognizes that a whole-of-government approach and international engagement are required to achieve climate security.  Climate security is a condition that results from the establishment and maintenance of protective measures that ensure a state of inviolability from the adverse impacts of climate.  Climate change introduces new security risks and vulnerabilities, which is why the Department of State is working with partners and allies to strengthen their resilience.  

One example of this is the Department of State’s Global Defense Reform Program (GDRP), which provides strategic-level advisors to select countries to enhance security sector governance.  Advisors assist countries in their efforts to establish effective systems and mechanisms such as legislation, policies, strategies, regulations, procedures, oversight, and accountability.  These in turn enhance countries’ capacities to respond to their people’s security needs in a coordinated, efficient, and effective way.  In countries such as Madagascar, Palau, Peru, and Ecuador, GDRP advisors are also supporting partners by helping them anticipate and plan for severe climate change impacts, such as flooding, wildfires, droughts, and stronger El Niño cycles, thus enabling them to be more resilient to climate change.

Strengthening Climate Security Can Enhance the Maritime Security of Island Nations

Rising ocean temperatures, a result of climate change, have created new migration paths for fish stocks that cross through two or more exclusive economic zones (EEZs).  As the fish move, foreign fishing vessels and fleets follow them, often without regard for international maritime norms, customs, and laws regarding fishing.  These sometimes-lawless movements and illegal fishing create food security and maritime security governance challenges for island nations in that they are forced to address the increased threat of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in their EEZs.  GDRP advisors collaborate with partner nations like Madagascar and Palau to enhance maritime security governance and safeguard their EEZs, thus strengthening the ability of partner countries to effectively address maritime security and governance challenges partially induced by climate factors.

Rampant IUU fishing has dramatically strained Madagascar’s already limited fish stocks.  A GDRP advisor supports the Ministry of National Defense and Navy with strategy development, human resources planning, and career management to build a force capable of patrolling the island nation’s EEZ of 473,075 square miles (1,225,259 square kilometers), the 25th largest in the world.  These strategies align with national goals, such as fostering a blue economy, which accounts for the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and a robust marine ecosystem.  By addressing vulnerabilities partially caused by climate change, in this case IUU fishing, the ministry is contributing to a more efficient and effective government-wide response to challenges found in the maritime economy.

Palau, an island nation consisting of 340 islands and an EEZ of 230,197 square miles (596,208 square kilometers)—the 42nd largest in the world—considers its marine ecosystem a vital source of food and income.  Unfortunately, the ecosystem is highly vulnerable to climate change.  Climate change has caused rising sea levels, warming water temperatures, and drastic weather changes that affect Palau’s marine ecosystem and aquaculture, and result in more fish in its EEZ.  This increase in fish stocks has been accompanied by an increase in harmful IUU fishing.  In accordance with the U.S. Integrated Country Strategy for Palau, the United States supports Palau in increasing its “resiliency to the impacts of climate change and natural disasters … [and diversifying its] economy in an environmentally friendly way, through sustainable tourism, fisheries, and agriculture.”  The GDRP maritime security advisor works with the Bureau of Public Safety’s Division of Maritime Security and Fish and Wildlife Protection and the National Security Coordinator’s Office to develop more robust processes and structures that support a whole-of-government approach to information sharing and reporting suspected IUU vessels in the EEZ.  The increased coordination and responsiveness diminish the negative impact on Palau’s fisheries and shore up its climate security.

Fostering Coordinated Disaster Responses to Climate-Induced Emergencies and Destruction

Navigating diverse climates from the Andes mountains to the Amazon, Peru faces an increased amount of natural weather phenomena induced by climate change that have wreaked havoc on its communities and environment.  El Niño cycles—such as the damaging 2017 event that triggered catastrophic flooding, displaced 100,000 Peruvians, and inflicted $1.4 billion in damages—are expected to persist.  The United States has partnered with Peru to enhance citizen safety by addressing security threats, including natural disasters.  Over the past three years, an embedded GDRP advisor with the Peruvian Army allowed the Department of State to support Peru in implementing an emergency response strategy and developing a program for military first responders.  Today, Peru has a well-established training center for personnel assigned to its 1st Multipurpose Brigade, which conducts search and rescue, radiological detection, and river bridging, often in response to climate-related disasters.  This initiative fosters an integrated whole-of-government response through collaboration with national government entities under the National Disaster Risk Management System, nongovernmental organizations, and civilian defense institutions.  Peru, with GDRP advisory support, is building a comprehensive and coordinated approach to disaster response that can address the challenges posed by climate change.

Home to rainforests, glaciers, and the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador is classified as a mega-diverse country because of its abundance of distinct climates.  While an asset in many ways, this diversity makes Ecuador vulnerable to the impacts of climate change such as increased flooding, droughts, and a stronger El Niño effect.  To build greater resilience, a GDRP advisor assists Ecuador’s Ministry of National Defense in the development of robust multi-domain awareness to holistically monitor and respond to events across air, land, and sea.  As Luis Auz, the Director of Planning and Coordination in the Secretariat for National Security and Public Order explains, this strategy enables the country to better assess the “interrelationship of the environment with [air, land, and sea] domains, which will help… [prepare for] catastrophic events.”  Multi-domain awareness will streamline information-sharing across Ecuador’s military so it can be faster and better coordinated in responding to severe climate events, and thus Ecuador can be more responsive to its people’s safety and security needs.

Advancing Global Climate Security

COP28 underscored the importance of collaborative action and a proactive and inclusive approach to establishing and maintaining protective measures that ensure a state of inviolability from the adverse impacts of climate change.  The United States demonstrates its commitment to climate security collaboration through programs such as the Department of State’s Global Defense Reform Program, which strategically assists partner nations such as Madagascar, Palau, Peru, and Ecuador to develop the governance processes, strategies, and structures to be more resilient to climate change.  These efforts prepare nations to respond efficiently and effectively to the escalating climate events and protect people and the nation’s vital natural resources.

About the Authors:  Amanda Ans, Sarah Bufano, Sara Ratliff, and Ilyssa Tuttelman serve in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Office of Global Programs and Initiatives at the U.S. Department of State.