Climate Smart Foreign Policy

A 1.5-degree Celsius increase in global warming poses an immediate threat to Southeast Asia's economic, political, and health security. Mitigating the effects of climate change is key to the United States' goal to secure a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific.

Dr. Jon Alterman explores different scenarios for how the global energy transition will play out and geopolitical implications for the Middle East and great power competition.

Though the adverse effects of climate change on agriculture are widely accepted, understanding of the pathways of impacts has not evolved much over the past several decades, particularly in the national security community.

The inaugural Leaders Climate Summit will be held on Earth Day 2021 and marks a major opportunity for the Biden-Harris administration to integrate a climate lens across the U.S. foreign assistance apparatus. CSIS’s Erol Yayboke and Christine Li present four ways for it to do so.

President Biden in the Arctic can secure two much-needed successes for U.S.-Russian cooperation on climate change and the environment: financing for research on the implications of permafrost thaw and creating a program to study fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean.

Climate change is not just a threat to crop yields—it undermines all four pillars of global food security. Mitigation and adaptation efforts must look beyond agriculture and rural populations to address the vulnerabilities of broader food systems and urban populations.

In few places is there more opportunity and momentum for climate action than renewable energy deployment in India. The Biden administration should focus on sub-national diplomacy and expanding the use of green finance in meeting this moment.