As Climate Week NYC kicks off, energy, climate and national security converge

Climate Week NYC is expected to convene more than 100,00 attendees for more than 1,000 events across New York City Sept. 20-27. We're kicking off our special daily podcast episodes with a topic that will feature heavily in the week's agenda — energy and climate security.

The Russia-Ukraine and Middle East conflicts have reshaped the way the world thinks about energy security. At the same time, climate change is contributing to more frequent and severe extreme weather events — with big implications for national security.

"You kind of have this convergence of a change in the energy security story at the same time that the impacts of climate change are really coming home to roost," says our guest in today's episode, Erin Sikorsky.

Erin is Director of The Center for Climate and Security, a research institute focused on tackling systemic climate and ecological security risks. The center is part of The Council on Strategic Risks, a nonpartisan security policy think tank, and Erin is speaking at Climate Week's opening ceremony Sept. 21.

In the episode, Erin explains why the security framing "will be front and center" during Climate Week NYC.

"You can't absorb attacks on your electrical grid, for example, or you can't absorb attacks on your food system or your water supply if those things are already strained because of extreme weather events," Erin says.

Tune in all week for our special daily coverage from Climate Week NYC. S&P Global's All Things Sustainable podcast is an official media partner of The Nest Campus and you can find us on the sidelines of this three-day event Sept. 22-24: Register for The Nest Campus 2026 | Climate Week NYC

Further listening:

What to expect from Climate Week NYC: Why resilience is high on the agenda | S&P Global

How sustainable finance is evolving as investors rethink security and defense | S&P Global

Further reading:

Sustainability Quarterly Third-Quarter 2026 Edition | The Resilience Imperative | S&P Global

You can find Erin's Substack newsletter here: https://securityinaclimatechangedworld.substack.com/

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