DSF Funding for New Research on Climate Change and Security in the Canadian Arctic

15 May 2026

Prof. Benno Fladvad and Svenja McGrath have been awarded funding from the Deutsche Stiftung Friedensforschung (DSF) for a one-year pilot project entitled “Climate Change and Defense: Military Practice at the Intersection of Local Livelihoods and State Sovereignty” that commenced in May.

As part of the project's first research phase, Svenja recently spent six weeks in Canada conducting fieldwork. The stay began in Montreal with a five-day course at the NATO Climate Change and Security Centre of Excellence, followed by research visits to Yellowknife (Northwest Territories), and Ottawa. There, she met with military personnel of Joint Task Force North (JTFN) and the Canadian Rangers, representatives of the Government of the Northwest Territories and the federal government, as well as civilian employees of Canada's Department of National Defence.

The project examines how climate-related vulnerabilities and threats are increasingly being incorporated into defense planning and military practice in the Canadian Arctic.

Further fieldwork in Ottawa and the Northwest Territories is planned for August and September 2026.