Over a decade ago, the Jackson Foundation began viewing climate change as a national security threat and became an early funder in this space. We saw it as a means to depoliticize the issue of climate change, engage a broader and more bipartisan audience, and persuade policymakers to act.
Convening Key People
We first held a private symposium in Seattle, drawing together nearly forty experts from the military, academia, the federal administration, Congress, and other government officials, to connect key people working in a variety of fields on the numerous national security implications of climate change.
After this symposium, we partnered with a number of national and local groups to inform the public and policymakers, such as hosting a public Congressional hearing, convening other funders around this topic, and highlighting this issue at a series of local events. Through these activities, we sought to elevate the military as an experienced and trusted voice on climate change adaptations and to highlight the military’s record of action to a range of audiences.
Partnering with the Center for Climate and Security
The Foundation also established a partnership over ten years ago with the Center for Climate and Security, a Washington, DC-based research institute focused on tackling systemic climate and ecological security risks. By investing at an early juncture, the Foundation has been able to support this organization as it has grown into one of the most trusted voices on climate and national security in the U.S. and internationally.
“Our mission is to ensure that the security community is climate proofed and that the climate community is security proofed,” Erin Sikorsky, CCS Executive Director, said. “Thanks to the Foundation’s support, we’ve been able to get the right people and right policies into place, and work across party lines in a way that has been constructive.”
CCS has continued to expand and innovate. For instance, the Military Responses to Climate Hazards (MiRCH) tracker is the first tool we’ve seen that presents data on where the military is being deployed to respond to climate-related events. This visualization of CCS’s work makes the data accessible and illustrates how climate change impact every branch of the military, in the U.S. and in more than 100 countries across the world.
“The Foundation is giving us space to test and explore theories of change,” Sikorsky said. “Threats are only becoming more intense as climate begins to warm.” CCS staff recently researched and wrote on relevant new topics including climate and disinformation and the security risk of geoengineering.
Sikorsky said that the funding provided by the Foundation has helped CCS attract additional funders to their programs, which enabled them to launch more initiatives and increase support. Part of the funding went to establish the Climate Security Fellowship Program which brings together young and mid-career leaders in national security who seek to apply a climate lens to their work, build a strong network, and help shape policy.
This long partnership and shared values have been both inspiring and necessary to advance vital climate and security research and collaboration.