The World Climate and Security Report (WCSR) 2021 from the Expert Group of the International Military Council on Climate and Security is a global assessment of the security dimensions of a changing climate and effective means to address them. It is intended to inform timely climate and security policy and action, and builds upon the analysis in the first WCSR, released in February 2020.

The world is at an inflection point for global climate action. Since the inaugural WCSR was released at the Munich Security Conference last year, we have witnessed a shift in awareness and growing acceptance of the security dimension of climate. It is now time to turn that awareness into action, driven by a sense of urgency amongst nations and other essential actors to address climate security risks. The key finding of the report is that a transition to more robust implementation of climate security practices is critical.

To that end, in addition to deep dive risk assessments of Europe and sub-Saharan Africa, the second edition of the WCSR provides concrete tools to help policymakers begin that transition, as they work to assess and address climate security risks and opportunities. Key among them is a first of its kind Climate Security Risk Matrix methodology, which evaluates comparative risk among countries. The report also includes a comprehensive assessment of existing climate security practices, and the findings from the second annual Climate Security Risk Perception Survey of top climate security experts. Both will assist policymakers in evaluating and prioritizing next steps needed to both prepare for and prevent climate security risks. Now more than ever, climate change is a critical aspect of national and global security, requiring collective global action to meet this unprecedented threat.