The NATO Energy Security Centre of Excellence (ENSEC COE) had the distinguished honour of welcoming Mr. Mathieu Bussières, Director of the NATO Climate Change and Security Centre of Excellence (CCASCOE), to Vilnius last week. Mr. Bussières met with Colonel Gytis Kazokas, Director of the NATO ENSEC COE, for a substantive exchange on deepening institutional cooperation between the two Centres.
The discussions reaffirmed the complementary nature of both Centres’ mandates and reviewed the progress of ongoing collaborative efforts. Among the areas of established cooperation, Directors addressed the “High North and Arctic Project” — a thematic initiative that reflects the converging security imperatives at the intersection of energy infrastructure resilience, climate-driven environmental change, and Alliance deterrence posture in the Arctic region. The project exemplifies the strategic value of cross-COE collaboration, combining ENSEC COE’s expertise in energy security and critical infrastructure protection with CCASCOE’s focus on climate change as a threat multiplier.
Looking ahead, Directors also explored opportunities to deepen cooperation through two major forthcoming events. The FORTE 2026 conference — Future Operations: Resilience in Transitioning Energy — will be held in Vilnius, Lithuania, on 27–29 October 2026, and serves as ENSEC COE’s flagship international forum at the intersection of military operations and energy transition. The fifth edition of the Montreal Climate Security Summit (MCSS 2026), co-hosted by CCASCOE and the Conference of Defence Associations Institute in Montreal, Canada, will provide a complementary platform for advancing interdisciplinary dialogue on climate and defence readiness across the Alliance.
Both Directors underscored the strategic importance of sustained inter-COE cooperation in an era of compounding security challenges. Cross-domain collaboration between NATO Centres of Excellence remains essential to developing coherent, Alliance-wide responses to the evolving nexus of energy security, climate change, and operational resilience.
