Hot Wars, Hot Planet: Climate Change and Security in a Competitive World

In her address to the IIEA, Erin Sikorsky will discuss the pathways through which climate change is shaping instability and conflict globally. Her remarks will reflect upon how extreme weather, slow-onset hazards, and responses to climate change intersect with geopolitical competition, hybrid warfare, and other foreign and security policy trends. About the Speaker: Erin Sikorsky is Director of the Center for Climate and Security (CCS), and the International Military Council on Climate and Security (IMCCS). She is also the author of Climate Change on the Battlefield, published earlier this year. Previously, Erin served as Deputy Director of the Strategic Futures Group on the US National Intelligence Council (NIC) in the United States, where she co-authored the quadrennial Global Trends report and led the US intelligence community’s environmental and climate security analysis. She was the founding chair of the Climate Security Advisory Council, a US Congressionally mandated group designed to facilitate coordination between the intelligence community and US government scientific agencies. Prior to her position on the National Intelligence Council, she worked as a senior analyst in the US intelligence community for over a decade, leading teams examining conflict and instability risks in Africa and the Middle East, and won the National Intelligence Analysis Award. Recorded on the 15th of October 2025