On the Verge

Andrea Rezzonico interviews Johan Berganas, Senior Vice President of Oceans at WWF-US. They discuss the geopolitical concept of ‘fishwars', and how it centers on a converging nexus of climate change, IUU fishing, ocean health, and more.

In this episode, Dr. Natasha Bajema, Director of the Converging Risks Lab (CRL) and Andrea Rezzonico, Deputy to the CEO of the Council on Strategic Risks and Deputy Director of CRL, co-host an interview with the Hon. Dan Poneman, who currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Council on Strategic Risks.  We discuss the implications of Russia's invasion of Ukraine for nuclear energy and talk about how the U.S. could reinvigorate its leadership role on providing nuclear fuel and technology to countries interested in off-setting carbon emissions by generating electricity with nuclear power. In addition to his role on the CSR Board, Mr. Poneman is president and chief executive officer of Centrus Energy Corp. He has had a distinguished career with the U.S. government, serving from 2009 to 2014 as the Deputy Secretary of Energy and chief operating officer of the U.S. Department of Energy. His responsibilities spanned the range of U.S. energy policies and programs – hydrocarbons, renewables, nuclear, and efficiency – including cybersecurity, project management, national security, and international cooperation. Mr. Poneman has published widely on national security issues. His most recent book, Double Jeopardy: Combating Nuclear Terror and Climate Change, was released by the MIT Press in May 2019. This interview with the Hon. Dan Poneman is part of a series of pioneering work by CSR's Converging Risks Lab that began in 2017. Between 2017 and 2020, CRL took on its first project, the Climate-Nuclear-Security Project (CNSP), which brought together the experience and expertise housed within the Center for Climate and Security (CCS) and the Nolan Center on Strategic Weapons (The Nolan Center), as well as the broader climate security and nuclear security policy communities. The CNSP recognizes that climate and nuclear risks are growing more complex and interconnected, and are beginning to converge in new ways. Understanding and managing this risk landscape requires climate, nuclear and security experts to break down issue sector barriers and develop joint solutions. In 2022, CRL is thrilled to begin a new, related line of work which builds upon the previous project to help reinvigorate U.S. leadership on nuclear energy issues, with a view toward improving nuclear safety, security and nonproliferation.

In this episode, Dr. Natasha Bajema, Director of the Converging Risks Lab, interviews Dr. David Maher who has more than three decades of experience in secure computing and currently serves as Chief Technical Officer of Intertrust.  Before joining his current company in 1999, Maher was chief scientist for AT&T Secure Communications Systems, Head of the Secure Systems Research Department, and security architect for AT&T's Internet services platform. Maher holds dozens of patents in secure computing; has published papers in the fields of mathematics and computer science; and has consulted with the National Science Foundation, National Security Agency, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment. Maher holds a Ph.D. in mathematics from Lehigh University.  They discuss the intersection of data and national security, explore the challenges of data authentication, provenance, and disinformation, and examine technical solutions such as blockchain. This podcast builds upon work undertaken by the Council on Strategic Risks (CSR) in collaboration with the European Leadership Network (ELN) to explore the impact of emerging technologies on nuclear decision-making and new approaches for mitigating risks. To read more about our work, please visit CSR's website. 

In this episode, Dr. Natasha Bajema, Director of the Converging Risks Lab, moderates a discussion about environmental crime and wildlife trafficking and their connection to security. The discussants are Dr. Rod Schoonover, Head of the Council on Strategic Risks's Ecological Security Program, and Dr. Tanya Wyatt, Professor of Criminology at Northumbria University in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the UK. This is part of a series of discussions about the concept of ecological security. Dr. Wyatt's research focuses on green criminology with a specialty in wildlife crime and trafficking, non-human animal abuse and welfare, and their intersections with organized crime, corporate crime, and corruption. Professor Wyatt also researches crimes of the powerful, particularly industrial agriculture and wider issues of pollution. Before coming to CSR, Dr. Schoonover served a decade in the U.S. intelligence community, first at the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research and later at the National Intelligence Council, working on the national security and foreign policy implications of environmental and ecological change. To fill an urgent gap in understanding and addressing the security implications of global ecological disruption, the Council on Strategic Risks (CSR) has significantly expanded its Ecological Security Program over the past months, with the help of a grant of close to $1 million from the V. Kann Rasmussen Foundation. The program, housed within CSR's Converging Risks Lab, addresses all elements of global ecological disruption, including biodiversity loss and beyond, caused by drivers such as habitat change, direct (and often illegal) exploitation of organisms, climate change, pollution, and the spread of damaging invasive or otherwise destructive organisms.  To read more about our work on ecological security issues, please read CSR's landmark ecological security report The Security Threat That Binds Us and the programmatic and policy responses recommended in that report, as well as the recently-published report Societal and Security Implications of Ecosystem Service Declines, Part 1: Pollination and Seed Dispersal.

In this episode, Dr. Natasha Bajema, Director of the Converging Risks Lab, moderates a discussion about illegal logging, forestry crime, forest integrity and their connection to security. The discussants are Dr. Rod Schoonover, Head of the Council on Strategic Risks's Ecological Security Program, and Dr. Charles Barber, Director of the Forest Legality Initiative and Senior Biodiversity Advisor at the World Resources Institute (WRI) This is the first in a series of discussions about the concept of ecological security. Prior to WRI, Dr. Charles “Chip” Barber served as Forest Chief in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, and as Environment Advisor at the U.S. Agency for International Development. He received his PhD in Jurisprudence and Social Policy from the University of California at Berkeley. Before coming to CSR, Dr. Schoonover served a decade in the U.S. intelligence community, first at the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research and later at the National Intelligence Council, working on the national security and foreign policy implications of environmental and ecological change. To fill an urgent gap in understanding and addressing the security implications of global ecological disruption, the Council on Strategic Risks (CSR) has significantly expanded its Ecological Security Program over the past months, with the help of a grant of close to $1 million from the V. Kann Rasmussen Foundation. The program, housed within CSR's Converging Risks Lab, addresses all elements of global ecological disruption, including biodiversity loss and beyond, caused by drivers such as habitat change, direct (and often illegal) exploitation of organisms, climate change, pollution, and the spread of damaging invasive or otherwise destructive organisms.  To read more about our work on ecological security issues, please read CSR's landmark ecological security report The Security Threat That Binds Us and the programmatic and policy responses recommended in that report.

In this episode, Andrea Rezzonico, Deputy Director of the Converging Risks Lab, interviews Andrew Davis, Senior Researcher at Fundación PRISMA. PRISMA is a regional center for dialogue and research on development and the environment in Central America. Andrea and Andrew discussed several threads including: The complex intersection of corruption, narco-deforestation, climate change, and migration issuesHarmful governance trends, including increasingly blurred lines between illicit/illegal activities, the state, and the private sector Climate adaptation and mitigation practices that do not fully consider local populationsThe importance of prioritizing indigeous and community rights, especially with regard to these dynamics They conclude the conversation by spotlighting several actions the international community can focus on to ensure policy and development interventions succeed over the long run.   This is part of CSR's growing efforts to address the nexus of climate change, migration, and security.

By Evan Barnard In this episode, which explores climate security and the energy transition in Asia, Evan Barnard, a research fellow at the Center for Climate and Security (CCS), discusses the current state and prescience of climate security risks with Sarang Shidore. Mr. Shidore is the Director of Studies at the Quincy Institute and a Senior Research Fellow at the Council on Strategic Risks (CSR), where he has co-authored multiple CCS reports on South Asia. He is also a Senior Research Analyst at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. As a South Asia international security expert, Mr. Shidore focuses on geopolitical risk and its intersection with the global energy transition and climate change. This episode examines two recent CCS reports. The first report, Climate Security and the Strategic Energy Pathway in South Asia, includes an overview of regional natural resources, rivalries, and insecurities in Southeast Asia with expert guidance for evaluating climate change and the energy transition in the region. The second report, Melting Mountains, Mountain Tensions, explores the hydrogeopolitics of glacial water access and use among India, China, and Pakistan with an added level of security complexity. Written as part of a joint collaboration with the CSR Converging Risks Lab (CRL) and the Woodwell Climate Research Center, the report is accompanied by an interactive story map. According to Mr. Shidore, the lack of water cooperation in the region is geopolitically and geostrategically consequential. In a region that floods when the riverbanks overflow, more upstream dams are likely to result in more flooding. Also, no river treaty like the Indus Waters Treaty exists for the Brahmaputra River. Mr. Shidore encourages the upstream and downstream parties to conduct “data diplomacy,” sharing adequate data on adequate timescales to rebuild trust between the countries and reduce conflict risk. Sustained cooperation and dialogue may also open the possibility for joint humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HA/DR) operations in the region. Mr. Shidore suggests that we need greater forecasting, investment, and dialogue. Discrepancies in changes in micro-climates in South Asia can be large and challenging to forecast, but decreasing uncertainty in monsoon predictions could change South Asian agricultural livelihoods and potentially save lives. Making communities more resilient to climate change effects improves communities and the populations that live there, thus bolstering climate resilience in the region. Investment in early warning systems would also supplement the region's climate resilience to minimize the effects of sudden events like flooding. In the inevitable cases of friction over the use of the Brahmaputra and Indus Rivers, avenues for dialogue to build trust and confidence can help resolve these conflicts.For further reading, please check out the CCS Climate Security and the Strategic Energy Pathway in South Asia report, the CRL Melting Mountains, Mountain Tensions report, and the CRL Melting Mountains, Mountain Tensions story map.

By Lillian Parr In this episode of CSR's podcast On the Verge, Christine Parthemore, CEO of the Council on Strategic Risks, hosts a conversation with Andy Weber and Alexander Titus about bringing opportunities presented by biotechnology to the Department of Defense. Titus also speaks about the importance of good communication across the science and defense communities, and what steps can be taken toward effective public-private collaboration.  Alexander Titus is a Strategic Business Executive at Google Cloud focused on the Global Public Sector—as well as a senior fellow with the CSR. Previously, Titus served as the inaugural Assistant Director for Biotechnology at the U.S. Department of Defense. He has worked across the public and private sectors and done unique work in the bio-AI intersection, and has been a leader in community-building and public communications regarding the promise of biotech for addressing some of the world's greatest challenges.

By Evan Barnard In this second episode exploring the 2021 World Climate and Security Report, Evan Barnard, a research fellow at the Center for Climate and Security, discusses the current state and prescience of climate security risks with Kate Guy. Ms. Guy is a Senior Research Fellow with the Center for Climate and Security (CCS), an Institute of the Council on Strategic Risks, where she also serves as Deputy Director of the International Military Council on Climate and Security. She was the lead author of the seminal 2020 CCS report, A Security Threat Assessment of Global Climate Change, and has contributed to numerous other climate security research projects, including the 2021 World Climate and Security Report. She is currently pursuing a doctorate on climate change and global security at the University of Oxford. This podcast episode takes a deep dive into the expert survey section of the 2021 World Climate and Security Report published this summer by the International Military Council on Climate and Security. This survey, now in its second year, represents an important barometer for determining climate security priorities, because the research field of climate security is still relatively young and the expert practitioner perspective uniquely highlights what practitioners consider the most pressing and prescient issues. According to the survey, experts in the climate-security intersection deem all climate security threats to have at least a moderate level of risk to society, and even one decade out, many of the same threats could be at a high or potentially catastrophic level of risk. Risks assessed are expected to grow if not accelerate in severity over the next ten to twenty years. Ms. Guy found that experts believe the biggest climate security risks do not just threaten military operations but also society at large. Water security risks were the most interconnected risks, with cascading effects on other aspects of human and national security. Based on the survey results, Ms. Guy suggests taking serious mitigation as well as adaptation efforts now. “We're not just safe if we build toward the resilience of today,” says Ms. Guy. “We need to be building, and understanding, and putting ourselves in the shoes of humans 20 years down the road and the risks they'll be facing.” The decisions of human societies made up to the present will most likely mean the next twenty years will be grim for climate security risks. “We need to be incorporating that understanding if we're going to save lives and ensure security.” For further reading and the survey methodology, please check out Ms. Guy's blog post and the 2021 World Climate and Security Report.

By: Evan Barnard In this episode, Evan Barnard, a research fellow at the Center for Climate and Security, discusses human migration and climate security with Amali Tower and Kayly Ober. Ms. Tower is the Executive Director at Climate Refugees as well as a member of the World Economic Forum and its Expert Network in Migration, Human Rights and Humanitarian Response. Ms. Tower has experience in promoting the rights and protection of refugees and forcibly displaced persons with UNHCR, various NGOs and the US Refugee Admissions Program throughout Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and the US. Ms. Ober is the Senior Advocate and Program Manager of the Climate Displacement Program at Refugees International. Prior to Refugees International, she worked as a Policy Specialist for the Asian Development Bank and as a Consultant at the World Bank, where she authored the flagship report Groundswell: Preparing for Internal Climate Migration. The podcast features a discussion of three recent migration reports. The Biden Administration's U.S. Strategy for Addressing the Root Causes of Migration in Central America lays out its proposed course of action to address and mitigate Central American migration and its “root causes.” The Climate Refugees, Climate Change, Forced Displacement, and Peace & Security report investigates the international security perspective on climate change as a driver of human migration through a human rights lens. The report by the blue ribbon panel of Refugees International Task Force Report to the President on the Climate Crisis and Global Migration provides a human rights-centric discourse of the relationship between climate change and human migration. In the conversation, Ms. Ober suggests reevaluating refugee status qualifications to include climate-related crises. She reasons that the Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees should, by definition, cover persons fleeing from climate-related crises. The Biden Administration's executive order Rebuilding and Enhancing Programs To Resettle Refugees and Planning for the Impact of Climate Change on Migration acknowledges climate change affects migration and calls for a forthcoming report on the relationship between climate and migration. Ms. Tower recommends greater prioritization of climate change in international multilateral institutions like the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Climate change affects all people, but it does not affect all people equally. According to Ms. Tower and Ms. Ober, a change in political will is needed to make substantial progress towards comprehensive human rights-based migration governance and creating more inclusive migration policies that incorporate climate change considerations.  For further reading, please check out Ms. Tower's blog post, Central American Climate Migration is a Human Security Crisis.

In this episode, Dr. Natasha Bajema, Director of the Converging Risks Lab, hosts a follow-on discussion with Colonel (ret) Ron Fizer and the Honorable Andy Weber about the criteria for determining what belongs to the category of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) or weapons of mass effects. Ron Fizer is a retired U.S. Army Colonel and fellow at LMI. He served in the force for 30 years in various command, staff and leadership positions across the Army, Joint Staff and the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Andy Weber is a Senior Fellow at the Council on Strategic Risks. He is the former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense programs and has spent decades working to reduce the risk of WMD. For further reading, please check out a three-part briefer written by Dr. Bajema exploring whether we should move beyond the WMD paradigm: BRIEFER: Beyond Weapons of Mass Destruction: Time for a New Paradigm? BRIEFER – Definitions Matter: The Role of WMD in Shaping U.S. National Security Strategy BRIEFER: Weapons of Mass Agility: A New Threat Framework for Mass Effects in the 21st Century

In this episode, Evan Barnard, Research Fellow at the Center for Climate and Security, hosts a discussion with Captain Steve Brock, US Navy (Ret), about the International Military Council on Climate and Security's (IMCCS) 2021 World Climate and Security Report and how climate change will affect military operations and national security worldwide. Steve Brock is a retired U.S. Navy Captain and Senior Advisor with the Council on Strategic Risks and the Center for Climate and Security. He served in the office of the U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, at the US Mission to the United Nations, and at the National Security Council. For further reading, please check out the 2020 and 2021 World Climate and Security Reports by the IMCCS Expert Group exploring compound security threats posed by the convergence of climate change with other global risks: IMCCS World Climate and Security Report 2021 IMCCS World Climate and Security Report 2020

By Evan Barnard 2021 is a critical year for multilateral climate security dialogue, with climate change as a prominent topic at high-level fora including the Munich Security Conference and the United Nations Security Council. Security leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will participate in the upcoming IISS Shangri-La Dialogue and the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting in June. The Shangri-La Dialogue will include a session on the defense implications of environmental and human security. Today, we are sharing the first in a series of interviews related to the recent Asia regional reports released by the International Military Council on Climate and Security (IMCCS). This particular interview examines the report Climate Security and the Strategic Energy Pathway in Southeast Asia. The report includes an overview of resource availability, conflict, and economic activity in Southeast Asia with expert advice for managing climate security in the region. On the eve of the U.S.-hosted Leaders Summit on Climate, I discussed climate security challenges and potential remedies for Southeast Asia with Rachel Fleishman. Ms. Fleishman is a senior fellow for Asia-Pacific at the Center for Climate and Security and Asia-Pacific liaison at IMCCS. She began her career in national security policy, working in nuclear arms control. At the Pentagon, Ms. Fleishman worked for the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Environmental Security, where she helped conceive and build the Pentagon's international environmental security program in the 1990s when military and security issues began diversifying from nuclear proliferation. She currently advises businesses and non-profits on climate change and circular economy issues at Insight Sustainability. In our conversation, Ms. Fleishman recommends that militaries prepare for climate change by stress-testing and updating operational capabilities. She also suggests setting up ASEAN-level climate security watch centers to analyze and predict climate extremes and other environmental security trends. Joint military readiness in the region with local integration could help Southeast Asian countries prepare for climate security challenges and more effectively conduct humanitarian assistance and disaster response missions. As the effects of climate change become more pronounced in the region, these missions will comprise an increasing proportion of military operations. In Southeast Asia, China casts a long shadow over resource scarcity. In the South China Sea, China has adopted a philosophy claiming up to 90 percent of the Sea, with maritime territorial claims extending to subsea resources including oil and gas reserves and fisheries. As a result of China's fierce defense of its claimed natural resources, Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam are meeting the Chinese in instances of armed confrontation. China also controls the headwaters of the Mekong River, which provides much of the freshwater for the Southeast Asia region. When China builds dams on the Mekong, it limits the flow of water to the region. ASEAN could prioritize prevention of economic tensions and develop conflict management mechanisms, including for marine-based conflicts. Ms. Fleishman proposes that security threats will be augmented if significant carbon emission reduction efforts are not made in the near-term. In a region that trades and runs on predominantly fossil fuel energy resources, emissions reduction will be a tall task. Nuclear energy is a geopolitically-charged potential option, as any Southeast Asian country interested in nuclear energy will need to secure a multi-decadal relationship with a current nuclear power leader, cementing foreign influence. However, with sea level rise, subsidence, and more frequent and extreme severe weather, future climatic conditions might inhibit nuclear power plants in some coastal locations. She recommends that leaders consider their constituencies,

By Evan Barnard The concept of climate security is decades-old, but a new sense of urgency and a renewed interest in the concept have developed over recent years, not least due to the efforts of CSR's Center for Climate and Security. Climate change initially became a formal security focus for the U.S. after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, when military efforts began diverting from the nuclear arms race and standoff. Now, the field is rapidly developing and receiving greater attention. The inclusion of a climate security session at the recent U.S.-hosted Leaders Summit on Climate suggests that world leaders are considering climate change a security risk in major diplomatic contexts. The Leaders Summit on Climate was just one of this year's numerous high-level meetings emphasizing climate security, including the Munich Security Conference, a UN Security Council high-level debate on climate and security, and the widely-anticipated COP26 conference in November. Today, we are sharing the first in a series of three podcasts reflecting on the upcoming 2021 World Climate and Security Report from the Expert Group of the International Military Council on Climate and Security, which builds upon the group's 2020 World Climate and Security Report, which was released at that year's Munich Security Conference. The report provides an update on the status of global and regional climate security factors, and details what climate experts predict will be the most important aspects of climate security. Before the Leaders Summit on Climate, I discussed climate security priorities for the military and climate diplomacy with the Honorable Sherri Goodman. Ms. Goodman is a senior strategist and advisory board member at the Center for Climate and Security, chair of the board at the Council on Strategic Risks, secretary general of the International Military Council on Climate and Security, and senior fellow at the Wilson Center. At the inception of the field of climate security, she served as the first deputy undersecretary of defense for environmental security from 1993 to 2001. The discussion included why the Department of Defense must cement a reputation as an environmental and clean energy leader and how the military is already taking steps toward resilience. Ms. Goodman believes the security sector will have an important role in the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change. The military industrial complex has an enormous carbon footprint, so the military should lead by example in emissions reduction and clean energy adoption. Militaries can make much greater progress toward these goals by working cooperatively. Most importantly, innovation will enable the military to develop and implement clean energy and other technologies, further leading by example and building a climate domain awareness. Given the social, economic, political, and national security implications of accelerating climate change, the time to take action and mitigate and adapt for climate resilience is now. Ms. Goodman suggests an integrated, societal approach like the “Three Ds:” development, diplomacy, and defense. Solutions must be locally-based, because there is no one-size-fits-all solution to conflicts with climate as a factor. In a 2007 CNA Military Advisory Report, Ms. Goodman coined the term “threat multiplier.” The term was used multiple times, including by Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry, during the Leaders Summit on Climate in terms of security risks. The term describes how climate change aggravates existing threats around the world. Modern examples include the melting Arctic Ocean, where a smaller, thinner icecap is translating to both economic and national security opportunities for Arctic nations like the U.S. and Russia as well as interested traders like China. These Arctic economic and military opportunities are sculpting a new geostrategic and geopolitical arena.

In this episode, Dr. Natasha Bajema, Director of the Converging Risks Lab, hosts a follow-on discussion with Colonel (ret) Ron Fizer and the Honorable Andy Weber about the definition of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and whether or not other technologies and scenarios with the potential for mass effects need to be considered as part of any effort to reboot the 2002 Strategy to Combat Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). Ron Fizer is a retired U.S. Army Colonel and fellow at LMI. He served in the force for 30 years in various command, staff and leadership positions across the Army, Joint Staff and the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Andy Weber is a Senior Fellow at the Council on Strategic Risks. He is the former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense programs and has spent decades working to reduce the risk of WMD. For further reading, please check out a three-part briefer written by Dr. Bajema exploring whether we should move beyond the WMD paradigm: BRIEFER: Beyond Weapons of Mass Destruction: Time for a New Paradigm? BRIEFER – Definitions Matter: The Role of WMD in Shaping U.S. National Security Strategy BRIEFER: Weapons of Mass Agility: A New Threat Framework for Mass Effects in the 21st Century

In this episode, Dr. Natasha Bajema, Director of the Converging Risks Lab, hosts Colonel (ret) Ron Fizer and the Honorable Andy Weber in a discussion about the need to reboot the 2002 strategy to combat Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). This is the first in a series of discussions we'll be having on this topic.  Ron Fizer is a retired U.S. Army Colonel and fellow at LMI. He served in the force for 30 years in various command, staff and leadership positions across the Army, Joint Staff and the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Andy Weber is a Senior Fellow at the Council on Strategic Risks. He is the former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense programs and has spent decades working to reduce the risk of WMD. For further reading, please check out a three-part briefer written by Dr. Bajema exploring whether we should move beyond the WMD paradigm: BRIEFER: Beyond Weapons of Mass Destruction: Time for a New Paradigm? BRIEFER – Definitions Matter: The Role of WMD in Shaping U.S. National Security Strategy

In this episode, Christine Parthemore, the CEO of the Council on Strategic Risks, interviews Dr. Tomoya Saito, director of the Department of Health Crisis Management at Japan's National Institute of Public Health. Dr. Saito is taking part in his country's COVID-19 response, applying his deep experience in emergency preparedness and response, health surveillance, and biosecurity. Christine and Dr. Saito discussed several specific lessons that show the potential for strong pandemic prevention and response, including: Japan detected the infection patterns at a very early stage, showing the importance of disease tracking and early warning. Like all countries, Japan is navigating improvements in data collection and sharing. This also relates to the strength of a nation's modeling and disease-trend prediction capabilities. Japan established effective contact tracing and cluster busting strategies early, and its “Avoid 3Cs” campaign helped with public communications and cooperation in preventing disease spread. The roles of health centers in communities around Japan in contact tracing and helping the public, and its accessible medical care for everyone, undoubtedly contribute to progress in containing the spread of COVID-19. Dr. Saito shares specific insights and examples from the work he and his colleagues continue to do in addressing the COVID-19 crisis in Japan. These can and should inform how the United States improves its responses to this current pandemic, and establishes the systems needed to halt future outbreaks before they sicken and kill millions. Watch the Interview as a Video: https://youtu.be/4_LUDMrW0r8

In this episode, Natasha Bajema, Director of the Converging Risks Lab at the Council on Strategic Risks, interviews Andy Weber and John Gower about their proposal for a sole purpose nuclear doctrine. The Honorable Andy Weber is a Senior Fellow at CSR. He spent five-and-a-half years as the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs. He was a driving force behind Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction efforts to remove weapons-grade uranium from Kazakhstan and Georgia and nuclear-capable MiG-29 aircraft from Moldova, to reduce biological weapons threats, and to destroy Libyan and Syrian chemical weapons stockpiles. In addition, he coordinated U.S. leadership of the international Ebola response for the Department of State. Rear Admiral (ret.) John Gower is a Senior Advisor at CSR. He served, until his retirement in December 2014, as Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Nuclear & Chemical, Biological) in the UK Ministry of Defense. Previously, he spent nearly half his 36-yr military career at sea in ships and submarines culminating in the sequential command of two globally deployed submarines. The Janne E. Nolan Center on Strategic Weapons launched a program in 2018 on reimagining arms control. As the international landscape continues to evolve, successful arms control in the 21st Century will require new approaches grounded in the mutual security interests of countries involved. Working in collaboration with governments and other think tanks from around the world, the Nolan Center is developing new arms control concepts that countries may pursue together. This work gives special attention to classes of nuclear weapons that carry the highest risks of ambiguity, escalation, and altering strategic calculations; and developing arms control ideas that could include to Indo-Pacific participants. Read More About Arms Control Improving Nuclear Strategic Stability Through a Responsibility-Based Approach If Biden Reviews Nuclear Weapons Plans, Focus on New & Low-Yield Weapons Nuclear Weapon Sole Purpose: The Strongest Future for U.S. National Security and Global Stability A Nuclear Policy Tapestry: From a Code of Responsibility to Greater Stability

Dr. Sweta Chakraborty speaks with South Asia experts (and participants in CSR's Working Group on Climate, Nuclear, and Security Affairs) Elizabeth Threlkeld of the Stimson Center and Neil Bhatiya of the Center for a New American Security. They discuss nuclear weapons, climate security issues, the effects of natural disasters on the Pakistani population and government, and much more.   The Climate-Nuclear-Security Project (CNSP) was the first project of the Converging Risks Lab, bringing together the experience and expertise housed within the Center for Climate and Security (CCS) and the Janne E. Nolan Center on Strategic Weapons, as well as the broader climate security and nuclear security policy communities. The CNSP recognizes that climate and nuclear risks are growing more complex and interconnected, and are beginning to converge in new ways. Understanding and managing this risk landscape requires climate, nuclear and security experts to break down issue sector barriers and develop joint solutions. Read More About the Climate-Nuclear Security Nexus: The Future of South Asia: Nuclear, Climate & Security Nexus in India & Pakistan The South China Sea: A Potential Climate, Nuclear, Security Hotspot BRIEFER: Brazil – A Climate, Nuclear, and Security Hotspot Watch Video About the Climate-Nuclear Nexus: https://youtu.be/zNrahMvbWVY

In this episode, Christine Parthemore, the CEO of the Council on Strategic Risks, interviews Japanese experts about their response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the inaugural episode of CSR's On the Verge podcast, Natasha Bajema interviews Andy Weber and John Gower about the future of arms control as part of their work for the Janne E. Nolan Center on Strategic Weapons. The Honorable Andy Weber is a Senior Fellow at CSR. He spent five-and-a-half years as the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs. He was a driving force behind Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction efforts to remove weapons-grade uranium from Kazakhstan and Georgia and nuclear-capable MiG-29 aircraft from Moldova, to reduce biological weapons threats, and to destroy Libyan and Syrian chemical weapons stockpiles. In addition, he coordinated U.S. leadership of the international Ebola response for the Department of State. Rear Admiral (ret.) John Gower is a Senior Advisor at CSR. He served, until his retirement in December 2014, as Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Nuclear & Chemical, Biological) in the UK Ministry of Defense. Previously, he spent nearly half his 36-yr military career at sea in ships and submarines culminating in the sequential command of two globally deployed submarines. The Nolan Center also launched a program in 2018 on reimagining arms control. As the international landscape continues to evolve, successful arms control in the 21st Century will require new approaches grounded in the mutual security interests of countries involved. Working in collaboration with governments and other think tanks from around the world, the Nolan Center is developing new arms control concepts that countries may pursue together. This work gives special attention to classes of nuclear weapons that carry the highest risks of ambiguity, escalation, and altering strategic calculations; and developing arms control ideas that could include to Indo-Pacific participants. Read More About Reimagining Arms Control: Improving Nuclear Strategic Stability Through a Responsibility-Based Approach If Biden Reviews Nuclear Weapons Plans, Focus on New & Low-Yield Weapons Nuclear Weapon Sole Purpose: The Strongest Future for U.S. National Security and Global Stability A Nuclear Policy Tapestry: From a Code of Responsibility to Greater StabilityRe

By Christine Parthemore The United States has now tragically reached more than 210,000 people killed by COVID-19. These victims are among more than 7 million infected---including the President, many from the White House staff and Congress, and military leadership. Just as so many people across the country are working hard to bring down the transmission and mortality rates, many of us are working to understand what has led to the current situation in which the United States leads the world in total deaths and known cases.   Understanding the situation will take time, but drawing lessons on what has worked in limiting the pandemic and what has worsened its trajectory must begin now---both in case it can save lives from the current COVID-19 pandemic and for preventing future biological threats from growing to pandemic scales. One rich source of such lessons can be countries that have done relatively well in limiting the devastation from this pandemic. Japan is one of them. According to tracking by Johns Hopkins University, as of October 6th Japan had just over 1,600 known deaths and fewer than 87,000 known cases, despite the country's large population and density of some of its major cities. In recent months, I've spoken with friends and experts in Japan to try to learn more. Today, we're sharing the first of two recorded podcast discussions on Japan's response to COVID-19. The discussion features Dr. Tomoya Saito, who is the director of the Department of Health Crisis Management at Japan's National Institute of Public Health and has deep experience in emergency preparedness and response, health surveillance, and biosecurity; and Ambassador Nobuyasu Abe, who served as United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs and as a Commissioner of the Japan Atomic Energy Commission, and who we are honored to have as a Senior Advisor at CSR. They shared several factors involved in Japan's response that appear to have contributed. Japan focused heavily on early detection. The country also worked early to understand clusters of COVID-19 and how focusing on them could help limit its transmission. We also discussed communications and transparency between the government and the public, including via Japan's “Avoid the Three C's” campaign to urge the public to avoid closed spaces, crowded places, and close contact. Straightforward steps like widespread wearing of masks have also been embraced in Japan. Looking ahead, we also discussed the importance of creating pathogen early warning systems, and the danger of narratives that authoritarian regimes have handled COVID-19 best (evidence for which can be seen in democracies such as Japan being one of the world's leading countries in containing the pandemic). News outlets and other experts have provided additional ideas on what has contributed to far lower case and death rates in Japan. The nation has been using its Fugaku supercomputer (rated as the fastest in the world) for modeling how to minimize COVID-19 transmission in public places. Its high-quality, universal healthcare system is surely also an important factor. As close allies, Japan and the United States have long collaborated to share lessons from crisis response experiences and work together to prepare for emergencies from all types of natural and manmade hazards. CSR will soon share a second conversation with Dr. Saito that explores Japan's response in deeper detail. We hope these conversations are just the beginning of continuing dialogue between our countries to understand our different experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic in the hope of successfully halting future biological threats as they emerge. Click play below to listen to our first podcast on lessons from Japan's responses to COVID-19.

Welcome to the Council on Strategic Risks (CSR) Podcast Network! Here we speak with leading experts who are working to anticipate, analyze, and address core systemic risks to security in the 21st Century. Our fifth episode focuses on climate, nuclear, and security dynamics in Iran and Saudi Arabia.  https://videopress.com/v/3Vs7GyIT?preloadContent=metadata Episode 5: with David Michel and Christine Parthemore (April, 2020) Saudi Arabia and Iran are geopolitical rivals that have been at the forefront of global security discourse for the last several years. In this episode, host Dr. Sweta Chakraborty speaks to David Michel, a Senior Research Fellow with the Center for Climate and Security and a Research Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace, and Christine Parthemore, CEO of the Council on Strategic Risks.  Nuclear developments are a significant security concern in the Middle East and North Africa. This podcast explores the trends unfolding within Iran and Saudi Arabia. With the U.S. out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), an important mechanism intended to unite nations appears to be losing its power to taper back nuclear developments and contribute to global stability. Tehran announced that it is now actively enriching uranium, flouting JCPOA guidelines as European signatories attempt to curb these potentially destabilizing activities. Alongside these measures, the government is building more reactors, one of which is in direct partnership with Moscow.  Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is building a small nuclear research reactor and plans to construct at least two large nuclear energy plants. The United States and China, among others, have proposed partnerships to help launch a Saudi civilian nuclear program. Conversations with the United States have stalled due to disagreements with Riyadh over details of a 123 Agreement for peaceful nuclear cooperation. At the same time, Iran and Saudi Arabia are struggling with water and environmental security challenges. Both countries are characterized by arid landscapes, low precipitation rates, limited renewable water supplies, unsustainable agricultural practices, and high demographic pressures on natural resources. Climate change projections would exacerbate these issues. According to a MIT study, the unique features that characterize the Persian Gulf, such as its low elevations, shallow waters, and clear skies could result in temperatures that exceed 35℃ over extended periods of time by the end of the century. This would be intolerable for long-term human survival. The episode highlights how the region is navigating these issues. For example, Saudi Arabia is considering using nuclear energy to power desalination plants to meet its growing freshwater demands. CSR's Podcast Network will regularly feature exclusive dialogues with leading security and international affairs experts. Stay tuned for cutting-edge discussions on the world's existential and strategic risks, and the ways in which these challenges are converging.  Subscribe to the CSR Podcast Network's YouTube channel to never miss an episode! Or listen to the audio version on iTunes, and subscribe now to get real-time updates. If you're one of those already subscribed on iTunes, we always welcome your ratings and reviews, as this helps us get the podcast out there to more listeners!

What happens in Pakistan is critical to the security and stability of its people, its region, and the world. The inaugural episode of the Council on Strategic Risks Podcast Network features a discussion on Pakistan by South Asia experts (and participants in CSR's Working Group on Climate, Nuclear, and Security Affairs) Elizabeth Threlkeld of the Stimson Center and Neil Bhatiya of the Center for a New American Security. They discuss nuclear weapons, climate security issues, the effects of natural disasters on the Pakistani population and government, and much more. https://videopress.com/v/dhf9OuhO CSR Podcast Episode 1: South Asia Experts Elizabeth Threlkeld and Neil Bhatiya on nuclear, climate, and security trends in Pakistan (July 23, 2019) Welcome to the Council on Strategic Risks (CSR) Podcast Network! Here we speak with leading experts who are working to anticipate, analyze, and address core systemic risks to security in the 21st Century. This episode focuses on Pakistan. In this inaugural episode, host Dr. Sweta Chakraborty speaks with South Asia experts (and participants in CSR's Working Group on Climate, Nuclear, and Security Affairs) Elizabeth Threlkeld of the Stimson Center and Neil Bhatiya of the Center for a New American Security. They discuss nuclear weapons, climate security issues, the effects of natural disasters on the Pakistani population and government, and much more.  On the heels of Pakistani President Imran Khan visiting U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House, Threlkeld and Bhatiya discuss a complex set of dynamics within Pakistan and with its nuclear-armed neighbors. Their unique insights show why what happens in Pakistan is critical to the security and stability of its people, its region, and the world. It is no surprise that in January 2019, CSR's Working Group on the nexus of climate, nuclear, and security trends named Pakistan as the #1 most important country for examining how these trends are coexisting and at times influence each other. This year, Pakistan has experienced record temperatures due to a stifling heat wave: on June 1st, the city of Jacobabad hit 51.1 degrees Celsius, a solid 7 degrees above average. Many nuclear weapons experts are increasingly concerned about their use in South Asia, potentially stemming from miscalculations with India. Pakistan and many of its neighbors are expanding nuclear energy systems to address climate change and grow energy capacity---a reminder of the importance of nuclear safety and security in the region. These issues accompany economic pressures and many other dynamics our podcast guests highlight. CSR's Podcast Network will regularly feature exclusive dialogues with leading security, military, and international affairs experts. Stay tuned for cutting-edge discussions on the world's existential and strategic risks, and the ways in which these challenges are converging.

What happens in Pakistan is critical to the security and stability of its people, its region, and the world. The inaugural episode of the Council on Strategic Risks Podcast Network features a discussion on Pakistan by South Asia experts (and participants in CSR's Working Group on Climate, Nuclear, and Security Affairs) Elizabeth Threlkeld of the Stimson Center and Neil Bhatiya of the Center for a New American Security. They discuss nuclear weapons, climate security issues, the effects of natural disasters on the Pakistani population and government, and much more. https://videopress.com/v/dhf9OuhO CSR Podcast Episode 1: South Asia Experts Elizabeth Threlkeld and Neil Bhatiya on nuclear, climate, and security trends in Pakistan (July 23, 2019) Welcome to the Council on Strategic Risks (CSR) Podcast Network! Here we speak with leading experts who are working to anticipate, analyze, and address core systemic risks to security in the 21st Century. This episode focuses on Pakistan. In this inaugural episode, host Dr. Sweta Chakraborty speaks with South Asia experts (and participants in CSR's Working Group on Climate, Nuclear, and Security Affairs) Elizabeth Threlkeld of the Stimson Center and Neil Bhatiya of the Center for a New American Security. They discuss nuclear weapons, climate security issues, the effects of natural disasters on the Pakistani population and government, and much more.  On the heels of Pakistani President Imran Khan visiting U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House, Threlkeld and Bhatiya discuss a complex set of dynamics within Pakistan and with its nuclear-armed neighbors. Their unique insights show why what happens in Pakistan is critical to the security and stability of its people, its region, and the world. It is no surprise that in January 2019, CSR's Working Group on the nexus of climate, nuclear, and security trends named Pakistan as the #1 most important country for examining how these trends are coexisting and at times influence each other. This year, Pakistan has experienced record temperatures due to a stifling heat wave: on June 1st, the city of Jacobabad hit 51.1 degrees Celsius, a solid 7 degrees above average. Many nuclear weapons experts are increasingly concerned about their use in South Asia, potentially stemming from miscalculations with India. Pakistan and many of its neighbors are expanding nuclear energy systems to address climate change and grow energy capacity---a reminder of the importance of nuclear safety and security in the region. These issues accompany economic pressures and many other dynamics our podcast guests highlight. CSR's Podcast Network will regularly feature exclusive dialogues with leading security, military, and international affairs experts. Stay tuned for cutting-edge discussions on the world's existential and strategic risks, and the ways in which these challenges are converging.