The fourth edition of the Montreal Climate Security Summit (MCSS) 2025 brought together more than 280 participants from government, the military, academia, civil society, and industry to examine the growing security challenges posed by climate change and the solutions needed to strengthen defence resilience.
Co-organized by the NATO Climate Change and Security Centre of Excellence (CCASCOE) and the Conference of Defence Associations Institute (CDA Institute), the summit focused on strengthening military adaptation in the face of increasingly complex and interconnected climate risks.
Over two days of discussions, participants explored how climate change is reshaping the global security environment and considered approaches to enhancing resilience across military operations and defence planning. Key themes included climate-related instability, operational readiness, data-sharing, cross-sector collaboration, and regional security challenges in areas such as the Arctic, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East and North Africa.
The Summit reinforced the importance of cooperation among defence, policy, scientific, and civilian communities to better anticipate and respond to climate-related security challenges. It also highlighted the growing role of climate security within national and international defence agendas.
Building on the success of previous editions, MCSS 2025 strengthened Montréal’s position as a leading forum for dialogue on climate security and the future of defence in a changing climate.
Event Report
