Can the Military Fight Climate Change? A Review of Sherri Goodman, “Threat Multiplier: Climate, Military Leadership, and the Fight for Global Security” (Island Press, 2024).
Publisher: Lawfare
Author(s): Andrea H. Cameron
Date: 2025
Topics: Climate Change, Conflict Causes, Programming
Countries: United States
“If we believe the old adage ‘out of crisis, comes opportunity,’ the opportunity has never been greater.” This statement in Sherri Goodman’s “Threat Multiplier: Climate, Military Leadership, and the Fight for Global Security” epitomizes the author’s approach to dealing with a key challenge to security in the 21st century: the impacts of climate change. The book offers both a chronological narrative of Goodman’s professional experience and a summation of her assessment of how the world’s changing climate will require reshaping the United States’s approach to national security. Goodman started as the deputy undersecretary of defense for environmental security for almost eight years in the 1990s. She describes how that experience launched over 30 years of leadership in environment, energy, climate, and the Arctic. Her account mixes storytelling, climate security research, and myriad lessons from the leaders she has collaborated with throughout her career. Her combination of personal narrative and lessons learned along the way makes “Threat Multiplier” a thought-provoking and enjoyable read.