In the Hot Seat: How Climate Change Affects Planetary Security

Alexander Verbeek, Policy Director, Environment and Development Resource Centre, spoke in 6 panels at this year’s “Conference on World Affairs: Big Ideas: Endless Discoveries” in Boulder Colorado. Watch the panel discussion on “In the Hot Seat: How Climate Change Affects Planetary Security” where Alexander opens with an overview of the concept of Planetary Security and in which he and other speakers share their thoughts on the nexus between climate change and security.

For over 75 years, the Conference on World Affairs (CWA) has brought together leaders and experts across different fields to spark lively conversations on today’s top issues. Spanning four days from April 9-12, 2024, CWA featured over 70 panels this year.

The other panels in which Alexander was a speaker were:

• Taking Up the Torch: How the Growing Power of Women Is Remaking Politics
• Nationalism Is Growing, Politicians are Stymied: Global Migration IS Fueling Political Divide
• How Do Other Countries View U.S. Foreign Policy Considering Our Upcoming Presidential Election?
• Does Capitalism Pay?
• Across the Globe: What’s in the News?

Alexander is a Dutch environmentalist, editor of The Planet newsletter, public speaker and podcaster. He is a former diplomat and former strategic policy advisor at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Over the past 30 years, he has worked on international security, humanitarian and geopolitical risk issues, and the linkage to the Earth's accelerating environmental crisis. 

In addition to serving as Policy Director at the Environment & Development Resource Centre (EDRC), he is also a member of the Coordinating Group for the project on Climate and Security Action through Civil-Military Cooperation in Climate-Related Emergencies (Project CASA), a member of the Global Military Advisory Council on Climate Change (GMACCC) and a World Fellow at Yale University.