Sep
17
2025
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- Sep 17–18, 2025
Climate ChangeDefenseNATO
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Spotlight Event
About this event
- Sep 17–18, 2025
- 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
- Location, Facilisi sit risus tellus Get Directions
- $25/Person
Partner Event
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Meet the Speakers
LGen M.C. WRIGHT, CMM, MMV, MSM, CD
Commander of the Canadian Army and Chief of the Army Staff Canadian Army
Cmdre Ruud Schoonen
Assistant Chief of Staff Strategic Plans & Policy NATO Allied Command Transformation
Ms. Iris A. Ferguson
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Arctic and Global Resilience US Department of Defense
His Excellency Espen Barth Eide
Foreign Minister of Norway Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ms. Lisa Qiluqqi Koperqualuk
President Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) Canada
Mr. Peter Hammerschmidt
Assistant Deputy Minister (Infrastructure and Environment) Department of National Defence
Schedule
Day 1 – October 29
08:00 – 08:55
Registration and Welcome Coffee
08:55 – 09:10
Opening Remarks
Mr. Mathieu Bussières
Director, CCASCOE
Dr. Youri Cormier
Director, CDA Institute
Video Welcome Message by The Honourable Bill Blair
Minister of National Defence of Canada
09:10 – 09:25
Welcoming Keynote
Lieutenant-General Michael C. Wright
Commander of the Canadian Army
09:25 – 10:25
The State of Climate Security Today (Panel)
Dr. Stefan Rahmstorf (Virtual)
Co-Head of Research, Department on Earth System Analysis, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK); Professor of Physics of the Oceans, University of Potsdam
The Honorable Sharon E. Burke
Founder and President, Ecospherics
Ms. Janani Vivekananda
Head of Programme Climate Diplomacy and Security, Adelphi
Mr. James Clare
Director, Climate Change and Sustainability, Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom
Chair: Mr. Noah Gordon
Acting co-director of the Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
10:25 – 10:45
Coffee Break
10:45 – 10:55
Climate Change as a Threat Multiplier: Climate, Military Leadership and the Fight for Global Security
The Honorable Sherri Goodman
Secretary General of the International Military Council on Climate and Security
11:00 – 12:00
Operational Resilience: Adapting to Climate Change (Panel)
Ms. Swathi Veeravalli
Director of Climate Security and Adaptation, United States National Security Council
Colonel Nicholas Dickson
Division Chief, Strategic Resilience and Stability Division, US AFRICOM
Professor Mohammad Alqattan
Vice President of Research, American International University in Kuwait
Colonel Benoit Mainville
Director of the Canadian Ranger Corps
Colonel Giancarlo Turco
Senior Expert on Climate Change and Security, Policy and Capabilities Division, NATO
Chair: The Honorable Sherri Goodman
Secretary General of the International Military Council on Climate and Security
12:05 – 12:25
Climate Security in Multilateral Diplomacy (Fireside chat)
Mr. Hans-Olav Ibrekk
Special Envoy for Climate and Security, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Matthew Hudson
Director, Climate Diplomacy Policy, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia
Chair: Dr. Sarah-Myriam Martin-Brûlé
Professor of Politics and International Studies at Bishop’s University, Board Member of the Climate Security Association of Canada, Fellow at the CDA Institute and the International Peace Institute
12:30 – 14:00
Lunch At Palais des Congrès
14:00 – 14:55
Data and Climate Security: Enhancing Awareness for Informed Action (Panel)
Dr. Erin Hughey
Deputy Executive Director, Pacific Disaster Center
Mr. Mike DiOrio
Senior Vice President of Operations, Dataminr
Ms. Alessandra Ussorio
Capability Development Coordinator, European Union Satellite Center
Dr. Kiersten B. Johnson
Director, Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) Program, USAID
Chair: Dr. Joshua Elliott
Chief Scientist, Renaissance Philanthropy
15:00 – 15:55
Climate and Human Security: Intersecting Risks and Priorities for Action (Panel)
Dr. Louise van Schaik
Head of Unit EU & Global Affairs, Clingendael Institute
Ms. Catherine Wong
Global Team Leader for Climate and Security Risk, United Nations Development Programme
Brigadier General Raffaele Pio Manicone
Commander of the Carabinieri Group for the Protection of Biodiversity
Dr. Ayesha Siddiqi
Associate Professor in Human Geography, University of Cambridge
Chair: Dr. Will Greaves
Associate Professor of International Relations, University of Victoria; Founding member of the Climate Security Association of Canada
15:55 – 16:15
Coffee Break
16:15 – 17:15
Greening Defence and Military Readiness
Ms. Iris A. Ferguson
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Arctic and Global Resilience, United States Department of Defense
Mr. Samu Paukkunen
Head of the Climate and Energy Security Section, Innovation, Hybrid and Cyber Division, NATO
Mr. Peter Hammerschmidt
Assistant Deputy Minister Infrastructure and Environment, Department of National Defence
Mr. Louis Brunet
Managing Director – Canada, Collins Aerospace
Chair: Dr. Louise van Schaik
Head of Unit EU & Global Affairs, Clingendael Institute
17:15 – 17:20
Closing Remarks for Day 1
Mr. Mathieu Bussières
Director, CCASCOE
Dr. Youri Cormier
Director, CDA Institute
17:20