Montréal Climate Security Summit 2024

Special Thanks to our Event Sponsor

The Conference of Defence Associations Institute and NATO CCASCOE would like to extend a special thanks to the Sustainable Markets Initiative for their support.

About the Montreal Climate Security Summit

The NATO Climate Change and Security Centre of Excellence (CCASCOE) and the Conference of Defence Associations (CDA) Institute are excited to announce the 3rd Montreal Climate Security Summit, which will take place on October 29th-30th, 2024 in Montreal, Canada.

The Montreal Climate Security Summit is an annual international meeting at the intersection of climate change and security, which brings together participants from across the NATO Alliance and beyond. This year, we are expecting an audience of 200 guests which will include high-level civilian and military practitioners, policy makers, decision makers, and seasoned researchers hailing from NATO member countries, multilateral and regional organizations, industry, think tanks, and civil society. The event will feature an impressive lineup of speakers from Allied countries, partner nations and beyond (including Kuwait and Australia), complemented by insights from representatives of NATO HQ, the European Union, and the United Nations.

The first two editions of the Montreal Summit were led by the CDA Institute. With the establishment of the CCASCOE in Montreal in 2023, the two organizations are joining forces to build on previous efforts and generate a landmark venue to discuss climate security between NATO Allies and beyond.

This year’s in-person edition of the Montreal Summit will be by-invitation only. The event will be streamed by CPAC (Cable Public Affairs Channel) and available to watch live on the CPAC website (no invitation required). The event recording will also be available to view in the CPAC Video Archive following the event.

Key Themes

Discussions at the Summit will be action-oriented and explore the following central themes:

  • Current and future climate security threats and the role of NATO
  • Resilience of military infrastructure
  • Risk-mitigation strategies
  • Greening defence and military readiness
  • Regional and Indigenous outlooks
  • Arctic security
  • Strategic foresight
  • Human security
  • Data-sharing

About the Organizers

The 3rd edition of the Montreal Climate Security Summit is co-hosted by the NATO Climate Change and Security Centre of Excellence (CCASCOE) and the Conference of Defence Associations (CDA) Institute.

The Conference of Defence Associations is a leading defence and security think tank founded in 1932, which brings together 45 member associations representing over 400,000 active and retired members of the Canadian Armed Forces and Canadians with a close connection to national defence and security. In 1987, the CDA founded a separate Institute as a charitable organization with the mission to advance informed debate on national security issues.

Through its Climate and Security Programme, the CDA Institute has been at the forefront in Canada among defence and security think tanks to raise awareness on and study the issues surrounding climate and security. The objective of the CDA Institute’s Climate and Security Programme is to advance informed debate and dialogue on the multiple ways in which climate and environmental change interact with Canadian national security issues, particularly as it relates to national defence and foreign policy. Through activities promoting expertise, research and analysis on the climate and security nexus and its implications for Canada, the Institute contributes to informing Canada’s climate security priorities and Canada’s role in global climate security efforts; strengthens the Canadian community of practitioners, scholars and policymakers on climate and security; and contributes to the development of tangible solutions to current and emerging security and defence challenges relating to climate change.

The opening of the NATO Climate Change and Security Centre of Excellence (CCASCOE) in October 2023 and its accreditation to NATO in May 2024 are a milestone for NATO to address the security implications of climate change. The CCASCOE was established to support the efforts of NATO Allies and partners to adapt to the implications of climate change on their security and mitigate their own impact on climate change, while strengthening operational effectiveness. Canada, the framework nation, was joined in this effort by CCASCOE’s sponsoring nations: Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Luxemburg, Norway, Romania, Türkiye and the United Kingdom.

The CCASCOE works with governmental and non-governmental organizations, think tanks, academia and industry to stimulate innovative solutions, encourage closer collaboration among NATO Allies and partners and across different types of organizations, gather and streamline knowledge and expertise in one dedicated hub, and increase the awareness of decision-makers and the broader public on the pressing need of taking concrete actions to preserve Allied security. CCASCOE’s efforts support the implementation of the NATO Climate Change and Security Action Plan and contribute to NATO’s overall military readiness, deterrence and defence posture.

What to Expect

The Montreal Summit is a senior-level forum designed to allow attendees to expand their knowledge base of climate security trends, policies, and initiatives across and beyond the NATO Alliance, and to receive the most timely analysis from senior experts and decision makers to develop innovative policy, research, and business development strategies.

Participants are encouraged to bring their expertise and experience to bear on the conversation. The event is designed to foster interdisciplinary dialogue and facilitate the ideation of solutions. It is an opportunity to engage with our speakers and ask questions that break out traditional disciplinary and policy silos.

Interested in sponsoring the summit? Gain access to the event and visibility benefits for your company today. Contact Jennifer Giguere (jennifer@cdainstitute.ca) for more details on becoming a sponsor of the Montreal Summit.

Registration Process

The Montreal Climate Security Summit is by-invitation only. This year, the event will have a limited number of complimentary seats reserved for students and members of the general public who are passionate about the intersection of climate change and security.

If you are interested in attending as a guest, please submit your registration statement of interest form.

Speakers

Click on speaker names to view their biographies.

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
MR. ESPEN BARTH EIDE

Foreign Minister of Norway
Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Ms. LISA QILUQQI KOPERQUALUK

President
Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) Canada

Mr. SAMU PAUKKUNEN

Head of Climate Change and Security Section
NATO

Mr. PETER HAMMERSCHMIDT

Assistant Deputy Minister (Infrastructure and Environment)
Department of National Defence

Mr. HANS OLAV IBREKK

Special Envoy Climate and Security
Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

MGen HENNING-A. FRANTZEN

Head of the Department of Defense Policy and Long-term Planning
Norwegian Ministry of Defence

Dr. STEFAN RAHMSTORF

Co-Head of Research, Department on Earth System Analysis
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK)

Hon. SHERRI GOODMAN

Secretary General
International Military Council on Climate & Security (IMCCS)

Gen (Ret'd) TOM MIDDENDORP

Chairman
International Military Council on Climate and Security
Former Chief of Defense of the Netherlands

BGen RAFFAELE PIO MANICONE

Commander of the Carabinieri Group for the Protection of Biodiversity
Italian Carabinieri General Headquarters

Col BENOIT MAINVILLE

Director, Canadian Ranger Corps
Canadian Army Headquarters

Col GIANCARLO TURCO

Senior Expert on Climate Change and Security
International Military Staff, NATO

Ms. MARISOL MADDOX

Senior Arctic Analyst, Wilson Center Polar Institute

Mr. NOAH J. GORDON

Co-director, Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics Program
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Ms. JANANI VIVEKANANDA

Head of Programme Climate Diplomacy and Security
Adelphi

Mr. MATTHEW HUDSON

Director, Climate Diplomacy Policy
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia

Mr. HIMANSHU GUPTA

CEO and Co-founder
ClimateAI

Dr. LOUISE VAN SCHAIK

Head of Unit EU & Global Affairs
Clingendael Institute

Dr. AYESHA SIDDIQI

Associate Professor at the Department of Geography
University of Cambridge

Ms. CATHERINE WONG

Team Leader - Climate and Security Risk
United Nations Development Programme

Col NICHOLAS DICKSON

Strategic Resilience and Stability Division Chief
AFRICOM J56

Dr. ERIN HUGHEY

Deputy Executive Director
Pacific Disaster Center

Dr. JOSHUA ELLIOTT

Chief Scientist
Renaissance Philanthropy

Ms. SWATHI VEERAVALLI

Director of Climate Security and Adaptation
US National Security Council

Ms. CAROLINE BAXTER

Senior Advisor
Center for Climate and Security

Dr. KATIE WOODWARD

Deputy Head of the Research Branch
CCASCOE

Dr. MATTHEW A. RHODES

Professor of International Security
Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies

Dr. WILL GREAVES

Associate Professor University of Victoria

Dr. SARAH-MYRIAM MARTIN-BRÛLÉ

Professor, Department of Politics and International Studies
Bishop's University Board Member
The Climate Security Association of Canada

Hon. SHARON BURKE

Founder and President Ecospherics

Mr. ANTHONY AGOTHA

Climate & Environment Ambassador
European External Action Service (EEAS)

Mr. JAMES CLARE

Director of Climate Change and Sustainabality
UK Department of Defence

Mr. MIKE DIORIO

Senior Vice President of Operations
Dataminr

Prof. MOHAMMAD ALQATTAN

Vice President of Research
American International University in Kuwait

Dr. KIERSTEN JOHNSON

Director
Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) Program, USAID

Mr. LOUIS BRUNET

Managing Director
Collins Aerospace | Canada

Dr. P. WHITNEY LACKENBAUER

Canada Research Chair in the Study of the Canadian North
Trent University
CDAI Fellow
CDA Institute

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