War and Climate Change

The U.S. Department of Defense has described climate change as a “threat multiplier” for nearly a decade. Is that so? If not, what is the relationship between climate change and conflict? In this talk, Prof. Crawford highlighted the role of the U.S. Military, the world’s single largest institutional greenhouse gas emitter, in exploring the connection between climate change and national security. She examined the cycle of economic growth, fossil fuel use, and dependency that has driven American military missions abroad, including to protect access to Persian Gulf oil.

Neta C. Crawford holds the University of Oxford’s Montague Burton Chair in International Relations and a Professorial Fellowship at Balliol College. She is also a co-founder and co-director of the Costs of War Project based at Brown University and is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Her research focuses on war, ethics, normative change, emotions in world politics, and climate change. Her most recent book, The Pentagon, Climate Change, and War (MIT Press, 2022), is the winner of an American Book Award.