February 19, 2019
Climate change and national security: Jackson School to hold public discussion March 6 featuring Gov. Jay Inslee
What geopolitical challenges is global climate change creating for the national security of the United States and throughout the world? The University of Washington’s Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies will host a public panel discussion of these issues, featuring Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.
The discussion will be from 3 to 4 p.m. March 6 in the Husky Union Building’s South Ballroom, and is free and open to the public. UW Provost Mark Richards will moderate, and Jackson School Director Reşat Kasaba, professor of international studies, will give opening remarks.
The school is hosting the event in cooperation with the American Security Project, a nonpartisan public policy and research organization which aims to increase the American public’s understanding of critical national security issues.
In addition to Gov. Inslee, other participants are:
- Gen. Stephen Cheney, U.S. Marine Corps, who retired after 30 years of service in a variety of command and staff positions and has expertise in military and defense issues and national security strategy.
- William Fallon, USN, who retired after a 40-year career of military and strategic leadership with the U.S. Navy. He led U.S. and Allied forces in eight separate commands and played a leadership role in military and diplomatic matters at the highest levels of the government.
- Former New Jersey Christine Todd Whitman, who led the state from 1994 to 2001 and served as head of the Environmental Protection Agency administrator in the of President George W. Bush, from 2001 to 2003. She currently is president of The Whitman Strategy Group, a consulting firm that specializes in energy and environmental issues.
Cheney is chief executive officer of the American Security Project, and Fallon and Whitman are on the organization’s governing board.
“Climate change alone will not cause wars, but it serves as an ‘accelerant of instability’ or a ‘threat multiplier’ that makes already existing threats worse,” the American Security Project states on its website.
“Too many governments are not prepared for these threats, either because they do not have the resources or because they have not planned ahead. We must address the threats of climate change — both by reducing emissions and by increasing resiliency. Failure to do so will make solving every other security challenge of the 21st Century nearly impossible.”
Sponsors are the Jackson School, the American Security Project, the Henry M. Jackson Foundation and the Seattle-based World Affairs Council.
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For more information, contact Monique Thormann, Jackson School director of communications, at 206-685-0578 or thormm@uw.edu. Event participants will be available to press from 4 to 4:15 p.m.
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • Jackson School of International Studies • Mark Richards • Resat Kasaba
