climate Security - Community Of Practice

About the CS-COP

Welcome to the Climate Security – Community of Practice (CS-CoP), a NATO CCASCOE-led network for professionals dedicated to navigating the complex intersection of climate change and defence and security. Our aim is to foster a multi-interdisciplinary dialogue, turning knowledge into tangible action.

By bringing together experts from military, scientific, policy, and academic fields, the CS-CoP creates a collective intelligence capable of addressing climate security as a “system of systems challenge,” where factors are multifaceted and constantly evolving.

By joining the CS-CoP, you will become part of our exclusive speaker series, network with a global community of experts through specific virtual and in-person events and contribute to the vital work of defence-specific climate adaptation and mitigation. For general enquiries, please email cs-cop@ccascoe.org

Our Flagship Speaker Series

The Speaker Series is the regular benefit for CS-CoP members, designed to provide consistent access to cutting-edge expert insights and foster continuous professional learning. Our sessions are hosted as live virtual townhalls featuring presentations from leading experts on climate security.

Events: Engage directly with thought leaders and practitioners through interactive Q&A sessions.

Knowledge Archive: Access a comprehensive library of past session recordings on the NATO CCASCOE YouTube channel. All presentations and supporting materials are linked on this page.

From 131 Challenges to a Unified Research Agenda

The NATO Science & Technology (S&T) community has generated a rich compendium of 131 challenges and questions on climate and security. Although highly valuable, this extensive body of work risked being left as a series of disconnected findings within a rapidly evolving operational environment. To preserve its momentum and realise the vision of the original team, CCASCOE assumed custodianship of these research requirements in May 2025. This step served as the catalyst for the creation of the CS-CoP, ensuring that the insights generated were integrated, accessible, and actively applied to ongoing challenges.

By taking on the leadership of the CS-CoP, CCASCOE’s vision is:

To safeguard and curate the body of knowledge generated by NATO S&T and partner communities, ensuring that it remains dynamic, visible, and continuously enriched by new research and practitioner insights. This prevents valuable work from being siloed or lost and guarantees that the collective expertise remains a living resource.
To transform these questions into a cohesive, actionable research agenda by organising them into a unified, multi-layered framework. This intellectual exercise is an important first step to ensure the community can deliver on its promise of transforming theoretical understanding and research insights into practical, implementable measures tailored for defence and security contexts. The goal is to make our collective effort “more than the sum of its parts.”

The CS-CoP Clusters: A Clear Three-Part Framework

The CS-CoP is organised into three thematic clusters: Climate Relevant, Climate Ready, and Climate Resilient which together provide a comprehensive taxonomy for addressing the climate–security nexus. Each cluster represents a distinct layer of the problem, while collectively they ensure NATO’s research and action agenda is coherent, systematic, and mutually reinforcing.

Climate Relevant – How We Foresee and Plan

Time Horizon: Long-term (strategic and anticipatory).

Core Question: How will climate change reshape the strategic environment, and how must defence adapt its thinking?

This cluster focuses on the knowledge base that underpins NATO’s strategic foresight. It ensures climate risks are embedded into geopolitical analysis, future scenarios, and strategic assessments, so decision-makers anticipate emerging challenges rather than reacting to them.

Key Outputs: geopolitical risk assessments, foresight methodologies, integration into doctrines.

Primary Users: defence scientists, strategic planners, policy architects, intelligence analysts.

Strategic Foresight and Anticipatory Planning: The Relevant cluster focuses on understanding and anticipating the strategic environment shaped by climate change. While there is substantial work on areas like infrastructure, Arctic operations, and emissions, the taxonomy identifies critical gaps in public-facing and strategic foresight efforts. For instance, the network has limited coverage of research questions such as how to communicate military climate efforts to the public to safeguard recruitment (Challenge 12), how to adapt recruitment and training to ensure a climate-literate talent pool (Challenges 15, 20, 21), and how to promote broader public awareness through programs like a military-nature guide (Challenge 14).

Other gaps emphasise strategic intelligence and analytical capabilities. These include using AI/ML and data-gathering technologies for modelling and forecasting climate risks (Challenges 40, 47, 49), incorporating intelligence contributions into climate-based threat assessments (Challenge 41), and standardising frameworks to account for climate impacts on force readiness (Challenge 50). At the operational-strategic interface, questions remain on how climate change affects deterrence, force posture, and nuclear readiness (Challenges 58, 59), as well as how adversaries might exploit climate disruptions, particularly in the Arctic and space domains (Challenges 60, 61, 78, 79, 128).

By mapping these gaps to the Relevant cluster, the taxonomy provides CS-COP with a clear framework to prioritise research, cultivate new sub-networks, and curate speaker series content that address underdeveloped areas. In this way, the Relevant cluster not only organises ongoing research but also drives strategic foresight, strengthens the Alliance’s anticipatory capacity, and ensures that the network remains comprehensive and forward-looking.

Climate Ready – How We Operate and Respond

Time Horizon: Immediate to near-term (operational and tactical).

Core Question: How can NATO forces remain effective in climate-altered environments?

This cluster translates foresight into operational practice. It focuses on adapting equipment, training, and force structures to ensure readiness in missions increasingly shaped by climate impacts — from humanitarian assistance to deterrence and combat operations.

Key Outputs: Adapted force structures, resilient supply chains, climate-proofed platforms and training.

Primary Users: Force commanders, logisticians, operational planners, trainers, military engineers, procurement officers.

Operational Adaptation: The Ready cluster emphasises tactical and operational preparedness in the face of climate change. While the S&T network has extensive work on infrastructure, platforms, and Arctic operations, the taxonomy highlights key gaps where the network can strengthen training, equipment, logistics, and operational planning.

Bases, installations, and forward-operating capabilities require targeted research on climate-hardened infrastructure. Gaps include protecting military facilities through green/grey measures (Challenge 1), modelling climate impacts on basing (Challenge 2), building heat-resistant air installations and runways (Challenge 3), and designing rapidly deployable “green” bases (Challenge 8). These gaps indicate the need for proactive infrastructure planning and design, especially under extreme or shifting environmental conditions.

Training and human performance are critical for climate-readiness. Research opportunities include evolving training programs to account for climate disruptions and lost training days (Challenge 16), preparing soldiers for extreme environments (Challenge 18), reducing carbon footprints of exercises (Challenges 17, 19, 22), and adapting first-aid and medical protocols to extreme heat or cold (Challenge 24). Addressing these gaps ensures that the force is both physically and operationally prepared while meeting sustainability goals.

Platforms, sensors, and equipment also face climate-driven challenges. Notable gaps include designing resilient aerial and naval platforms (Challenges 66–68, 70–82), optimising performance under higher temperatures or changing conditions (Challenges 69, 74–75, 80–82), and integrating green technologies for portable power and maintenance (Challenges 71, 73, 83). These gaps highlight opportunities for research in material science, platform engineering, and environmental adaptation.

Logistics, supply chains, and operational support require innovation to operate efficiently in warmer, drier, or otherwise climatically stressed environments. Identified gaps include building resilient “last-mile” supply chains (Challenge 84), greening fuel and logistics operations (Challenges 87–89), automating supply chains with AI (Challenge 90), provisioning water without local stress (Challenge 88), and mitigating physiological and disease-related stressors for service members (Challenges 93, 98–101).

Specialised operations and environmental monitoring are also underdeveloped. Gaps include preparing for Arctic operations with changing ice and permafrost (Challenges 73, 102, 125–126), desert and mountain operations under new climatic patterns (Challenges 109–114), HADR and bio-defence operations (Challenges 106–108), and adapting next-generation weapons and surveillance systems (Challenge 103).

By mapping these gaps to the Ready cluster, the network identifies where operational capacity and mission readiness may be at risk due to climate change. The taxonomy enables CS-COP leadership to prioritise research, curate training and simulation exercises, and guide the development of adaptive platforms and logistics solutions. In doing so, the Ready cluster organises the network around maintaining effectiveness under climate stress.

Climate Resilient – How We Endure and Recover

Time Horizon: Enduring and systemic (infrastructure and institutional).

Core Question: How can NATO’s installations, institutions, and critical assets withstand and recover from climate shocks?

This cluster focuses on long-term institutional resilience. It addresses how NATO’s bases, infrastructure, and systems can withstand disruptions, preserve continuity of operations, and recover effectively from climate-related shocks.

Key Outputs: Hardened bases, continuity-of-operations planning, systemic risk management.

Primary Users: Infrastructure managers, capability developers, alliance-wide planners, engineers.

Sustainability, Infrastructure, and Endurance: The Resilient cluster ensures that military operations, personnel, and infrastructure can withstand long-term climate stress while advancing sustainability goals. The taxonomy highlights a wide array of gaps where the network can strengthen climate-smart infrastructure, energy systems, materials, procurement, and alliance-level coordination.

Infrastructure and energy resilience are critical for long-term operational endurance. Gaps include strengthening Arctic installations against permafrost thaw (Challenge 4), decarbonising power sources (Challenges 5, 127), deploying micro-grids for resilient power (Challenge 131), optimising energy use via sensors and IoT (Challenge 6), standardising net-zero and green building codes (Challenge 7), and improving waste management and carbon sequestration (Challenges 9–11). Addressing these gaps ensures that installations remain functional and sustainable under climate stress.

Sustainable platforms, materials, and logistics require innovation and adaptation. Research opportunities include developing greener platforms and biofuels (Challenges 25–26), scaling emissions tracking (Challenge 27), expanding circular economies (Challenge 28), leveraging additive manufacturing (Challenge 29), using anti-idling and autonomous vehicle technologies (Challenges 30, 32), and achieving greener computing (Challenges 33–34). Additionally, managing supply chains for critical materials (Challenges 64, 85, 105) and planning for coexistence of green and legacy platforms (Challenge 91) ensures resilient operational capability with minimal environmental impact.

Data, innovation, and standardisation form the backbone of adaptive resilience. Gaps include standardising GHG reporting (Challenges 36, 42, 46), leveraging AI and data dashboards for continuous monitoring (Challenges 43, 44, 48), securing digital assets with blockchain (Challenge 45), and fostering climate-focused R&D and innovation incubators (Challenges 37–39). These initiatives enable evidence-based decisions and continuous improvement across the network.

Procurement, finance, and governance must align with long-term sustainability. Gaps include incentivising green procurement (Challenges 51–52), life-cycle costing and budget adaptation (Challenges 53–55, 65), ensuring safe integration of new materials and power systems (Challenges 99, 104), strengthening Power Purchase Agreements (Challenge 86), and building partnerships across public, private, and international sectors (Challenges 115–124, 129–130). Addressing these gaps ensures the military can plan and execute a green transition without compromising operational readiness.

Human capital and culture also contribute to resilience. Key gaps include fostering sustainability culture and climate literacy (Challenge 23), collaborating with civilian partners to safeguard communities (Challenges 92, 96, 118, 129–130), and setting meaningful alliance-level policies and goals (Challenges 119–121, 123). These actions embed resilience and sustainability into the organisational DNA, ensuring long-term adaptability and collaboration.

By organising these gaps under the Resilient cluster, the network can focus on long-term sustainability, climate-smart infrastructure, and alliance-wide coordination, complementing the operational readiness focus of Ready and the strategic foresight focus of Relevant. This ensures the military is not only prepared for immediate climate impacts but also positioned for enduring success in a changing environment.

Why These Three Clusters?

Individually, each cluster addresses a distinct dimension of the climate–security challenge. Together, they provide NATO with a unified, system-of-systems taxonomy that prevents duplication, clarifies priorities, and enables actionable pathways from research to implementation.

The three clusters are not silos, they are mutually reinforcing engines of adaptation. By linking foresight (Relevant), practice (Ready), and durability (Resilient), NATO’s CS-CoP ensures the Alliance can anticipate, adapt, and endure in the face of climate change.

The Power of Overlap: A “System of Systems” Solution

The framework’s true value lies in revealing how a single research effort can inform and benefit multiple clusters, which is essential for addressing climate security as a “system of systems challenge”.

For example, the CPoW document and workshop reports indicate a strong focus on Arctic-related research. While research on Arctic infrastructure is mapped to the Resilient cluster because it is a long-term durability issue, hardening these installations directly enables military operations in the region, which is a Ready concern. Furthermore, securing a robust military presence in the Arctic informs strategic foresight and enables a geopolitical advantage over adversaries, which are core concerns of the Relevant cluster. This multi-layered contribution from a single research area underscores the power of this framework to foster a truly integrated approach.