At the NATO Summit in Washington summit last month, the United States and its allies reiterated the Alliance’s ambitious commitment: to become “the leading international organisation for understanding and adapting to the impacts of climate change and extreme weather on security.” The goal stems from a growing awareness among many about how climate change is shaping NATO’s ability to deter and defend. Wildfires are disrupting training and military exercises, while extreme heat has contributed to soldiers’ deaths and rendered multimillion dollar equipment nonfunctional. Rising sea levels threaten naval bases and other critical infrastructure, while warmer air is impeding the performance of aircraft, including rotorcraft. What has the Alliance done so far to counter these threats, and what steps will incoming Secretary General Mark Rutte and allies need to take to ensure NATO can deliver on this commitment?

As part of an ongoing project, we have been seeking to answer these and related questions about NATO’s adaptation to climate change. To do so, we have thus far interviewed sixty-three political and military officials from allied delegations and other offices from sixteen member states across all of NATO’s geographic regions. Our project, which began in the spring of 2023, is funded by the University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC).

While our analyses are still underway, we heard several themes emerge from our interviews..

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