In a world facing unprecedented transformations, climate change is no longer merely a scientific term or a niche environmental issue—it has become a superpower reshaping the very fabric of our lives and casting long shadows over the concept of human security. The question is no longer “Will the climate change?” but “How will this change affect our lives and stability?”
In this urgent and complex context comes Sherri Goodman’s book, Threat Multiplier: Climate, Military Leadership, and the Fight for Global Security, which provides a vital roadmap for understanding the deep relationship between our environmental challenges and our future as humans.
Goodman, drawing on her extensive experience at the heart of the U.S. Department of Defense (Pentagon) as its first senior environmental security official, speaks from lived reality. She offers a unique perspective that sees climate change not merely as an environmental risk, but as a genuine multiplier of threats facing humanity—one that forces us to rethink the very foundations of our security.
The purpose of this review is to highlight the book’s core ideas and show how it inspires leaders—not only in military institutions but across all walks of life—to adopt a comprehensive and humane response to these growing challenges. The book makes an undeniable case that climate change is not an environmental issue in isolation from the rest of our lives, but a security challenge demanding adaptation, mitigation, cooperation, and a reimagining of our shared future. Leadership, in its broadest sense, is presented as the key to this global human struggle.
An Existential Challenge
The central idea around which Goodman builds her vision is that climate change is not a standalone threat but a catalyst and amplifier of risks to human existence. Rising global temperatures, sea-level rise swallowing coastal cities, increasingly extreme weather events such as devastating floods and severe droughts, water scarcity drying up rivers and wells, and desertification turning fertile land into wastelands—all of these changes interact directly with pre-existing social, economic, and political vulnerabilities. They aggravate them, creating fertile ground for human upheaval and conflict.
Goodman underscores how these environmental shifts translate into tangible human challenges—from the loss of livelihoods to struggles for survival. For instance, water scarcity and farmland degradation drive mass displacement, forcing millions to leave their homes in search of safety and resources. Such displacement, whether internal or across borders, puts tremendous pressure on host communities, heightens the risk of social instability, and facilitates the recruitment of desperate youth by violent groups exploiting voids of governance and hope.
She stresses that the world’s most fragile regions—such as the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, parts of the Middle East, and South Asia—are hit hardest. In these regions, where governments are weak, essential services scarce, and social justice absent, climate change becomes the proverbial “straw that breaks the camel’s back,” triggering upheaval. Severe drought, for example, can collapse harvests, threaten food security, and push farmers and herders into bitter resource conflicts.
Such degraded environmental conditions exacerbate civil unrest and internal insurgencies, giving extremist groups fertile ground to thrive. Understanding climate change as a threat multiplier requires a holistic vision that places people at the center of planning, ensuring our resilience in the face of these interlinked challenges that strike at the core of our dignity and existence.
Military Leadership
One of the book’s key themes is the evolution of U.S. military thinking on climate and security. Goodman provides an insider’s look at how the Pentagon’s perspective has shifted over the past three decades. When she became the first environmental security official, few could have imagined climate change would become a central security priority.
Initially, environmental and climate issues were seen as peripheral or technical, unrelated to national security. Goodman recounts how, as a young academic, she faced skepticism in trying to convince seasoned military leaders to take these matters seriously. But attitudes began shifting as scientific evidence and field experiences accumulated, revealing the close links between climate shifts and security challenges.
She describes how military leaders began to appreciate her concerns through tangible events. For example, an Arctic submariner surfaced to find that the ice he had once stood on had nearly melted away. This realization did not come overnight but through persistent effort by experts and officers advocating for integrating climate considerations into strategic planning.
Resistance from traditionalists was strong, many viewing climate as a distraction from “real” threats like terrorism or hostile states. Yet successive natural disasters gradually shifted perceptions. Hurricane Katrina, for instance, underscored the importance of climate preparedness and the necessity of embedding it in military planning.
Over time, the U.S. military developed new frameworks for assessing and responding to climate threats. This included specialized units for studying climate-security impacts, predictive modeling for future risks, climate scenario integration in drills and war games, and strategies for addressing emerging issues such as mass migration and resource conflicts.
Goodman highlights how understanding climate’s role in reshaping the global landscape enables forces to prepare more effectively for operations in changing environments—emphasizing adaptability, resilience, and rapid adjustment.
In recent years, climate change has become embedded in U.S. national security strategy—not only in threat planning but also in investments in new technologies and innovations for mitigation and adaptation. International cooperation has also become a pillar, with allies and partners working jointly on global climate-security approaches.
Mechanisms of Cooperation and Innovation
Goodman offers a practical vision for solutions and strategies to address the security challenges of climate change. The book explains how military leaders’ thinking and contingency planning have evolved, providing a solid foundation for understanding future trends.
She argues that confronting climate-related security challenges requires a multi-dimensional approach combining traditional military measures with innovative solutions tackling root causes. This involves developing new forecasting capacities, building strategic partnerships, and boosting collective resilience.
Key strategies include:
- Early warning systems to monitor climate developments and assess their security impacts, enabling proactive measures before crises erupt.
- Climate-resilient infrastructure, particularly in strategic areas, such as military bases capable of withstanding extreme weather, alongside investments in renewable energy and sustainable systems.
- Capacity-building in partner states through training and technical cooperation, empowering local communities to adapt and resist destabilization.
- International cooperation mechanisms, such as platforms for dialogue, joint agreements, and information sharing to address transboundary climate-security risks collectively.
Conclusion
Goodman concludes that climate change is not a luxury issue to be postponed—it is an existential security challenge demanding immediate and comprehensive responses. She calls for a fundamental shift in thinking: climate change must be embedded in every survival and development strategy. Multilateral cooperation, technological innovation, and strengthened community resilience are identified as essential pillars for a safer, more dignified future.
The book ultimately serves as a practical guide for leaders and decision-makers—not just in the military but across all sectors—on how to face this growing challenge that threatens the fabric of life itself.
Are we ready to accept this existential challenge and do everything possible to safeguard our planet and the future of generations to come?
Source:
Sherri Goodman, Threat Multiplier: Climate, Military Leadership, and the Fight for Global Security, Island Press, 2024 (review in Foreign Affairs, March/April 2025, p.184).
