CNAS Climate Change War Game Featured in ABC News Earth 2100 Documentary

Washington, DC, June 2, 2009 - The Center for a New American Security's (CNAS)  Clout and Climate Change War Game was featured in the ABC News primetime documentary Earth 2100, which aired June 2, 2009 at 9:00 p.m. EST.

Held in Washington, D.C., over three days in the summer of 2008, the Clout and Climate Change War Game brought together scientists, national security strategists, and members of the business and policy communities from Asia, South Asia, Europe, and North America. Set in the year 2015, the game tested what would happen if the world’s four greatest greenhouse gas emitters in 2015 (China, the European Union, India, and the United States) met in an emergency session to find ways to deal with the mounting consequences of climate change and avoid a catastrophic future.

More specifically, the game looked at the national security implications of global climate change, focusing on migration, resource scarcity, natural disasters, and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. 

A number of the 2008 war-game players have since joined the Obama Administration, including Todd Stern, the lead negotiator for the United States on climate change; CNAS co-founder Michèle Flournoy, the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy; Diana Farrell, Deputy Economic Advisor to the President; and David Sandalow, the Assistant Secretary for International Affairs at the Department of Energy.

Military organizations and businesses around the world have long used such “war games” or scenario exercises to anticipate future developments and manage risk and uncertainty – and to test how plans, strategies, and ideas may hold up in a range of plausible futures. This game achieved the goal of exploring and highlighting the potential difficulties and opportunities surrounding international cooperation on climate change.

Visit the Climate Change War Game webpage to view the publications from the war game event, including the working paper on major findings and background on developing the 2015 world, the participant briefing book, and materials generated from the game.

Footage from the war game aired June 2, 2009 at 9:00 p.m. EST as part of ABC’s Earth 2100 documentary.