Hungry for Climate Action? NATO and Energy Security
Michael Rühle
Until his retirement in August 2023, Michael Rühle headed the Climate and Energy Security Section in NATO’s Emerging Security Challenges Division. For several years, this position also included the development of NATO’s response to hybrid threats.
Previously he was Head, Speechwriting, in NATO’s Political Affairs Division, and Senior Political Advisor in the NATO Secretary General’s Policy Planning Unit. In these positions, he wrote speeches and articles for six Secretaries General and other high-ranking NATO officials.
Before joining NATO's International Staff in 1991, he worked at the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation in Sankt Augustin, Germany, and was a Visiting Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), in Washington, DC.
He holds an MA in international relations from the University of Bonn. He has published numerous articles and book chapters on transatlantic security issues, including in International Affairs (Chatham House), Parameters, Politico, and NATO Review. He also co-authored a book on missile defense and a monograph on nuclear deterrence.
Mr Rühle is a frequent speaker on NATO affairs. He is an Honorary Ancien of the NATO Defense College and a recipient of the Star of Lithuanian Diplomacy and the Bene Merito Medal bestowed by the Republic of Poland.
NATO has a legitimate role to play in energy security, writes Michael Rühle, Head of the Energy Security Section in NATO’s Emerging Security Challenges Division and a regular contributor to the Advisor, but it is not yet clear what this role should be. In his essay, Rühle outlines the reasons for NATO’s interest in energy security and suggests what difference the Alliance could make in the energy security debate moving forward.
