This bill amends the National Security Act of 1947 to require the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), acting through the National Intelligence Council, to produce an Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) on the national security and economic security effects of climate change. The first assessment is due not later than four years after enactment, with subsequent assessments at least once every six years.
The DNI must submit the ICA to the congressional intelligence committees, and the assessment may be submitted in classified form, provided an unclassified executive summary accompanies any classified version where required.
At a Glance
What It Does
Establishes a new statutory requirement (Section 1115) for periodic Intelligence Community Assessments on climate-change effects, coordinated by the DNI via the National Intelligence Council.
Who It Affects
Affects the DNI and the National Intelligence Council, the intelligence community, and the congressional intelligence committees that will receive the ICA.
Why It Matters
Creates a formal, repeatable mechanism to assess climate-related national security and economic risks, anchoring climate analysis in official intelligence work and congressional oversight.
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What This Bill Actually Does
The National Security Climate Intelligence Act of 2025 adds a formal obligation to the National Security Act of 1947. The DNI, working through the National Intelligence Council, must produce an Intelligence Community Assessment focused on how climate change affects national security and economic security.
The timing is set: the first assessment must be completed four years after the bill becomes law, with future assessments required at least every six years. Once completed, the ICA must be submitted to the congressional intelligence committees for review.
If the ICA is classified, a nonpublic version may be submitted, but an unclassified executive summary must accompany it. This creates an ongoing, government-wide process to examine climate risks within the federal security and economic apparatus and ensures Congress has updated intelligence on these issues on a regular cadence.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The bill adds new Section 1115 to the National Security Act of 1947 establishing periodic climate-focused IC Assessments.
First ICA due four years after enactment; subsequent reports at least every six years.
Assessments are produced by the DNI, via the National Intelligence Council.
Classified ICA allowed, but must include an unclassified executive summary.
Reports are to be submitted to the congressional intelligence committees for oversight.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Requirement and Timing
Section 1115(a) directs the DNI, through the National Intelligence Council, to produce an Intelligence Community Assessment on the national security and economic security effects of climate change. The first assessment is due not later than four years after enactment, with a cadence of not less frequent than once every six years thereafter. This creates a formal, long-term planning and reporting obligation that anchors climate risk analysis within the IC.
Form and Executive Summary
Section 1115(b) allows the ICA to be submitted in classified form when necessary. In such cases, the bill requires an unclassified executive summary to accompany the classified report, ensuring policymakers and the public receive a digestible overview without exposing sensitive sources and methods.
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Who Benefits
- DNI and the National Intelligence Council, which gain a formal, repeatable mandate to coordinate climate-risk analysis.
- House and Senate intelligence committees, which will receive the ICAs for oversight and decision-making.
- National security and economic policy makers who rely on IC assessments to shape budget, strategy, and resilience planning.
Who Bears the Cost
- DNI and the broader intelligence community may incur higher data collection and analytic costs to prepare comprehensive climate-risk assessments.
- Federal agencies that may need to provide information or inputs to support the ICA process.
- Congressional offices responsible for reviewing and acting on the ICA; potential administrative costs for oversight.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
Balancing timely, transparent climate-risk intelligence with the need to protect sensitive information and avoid over-constraint by a fixed schedule.
The bill establishes a clear cadence for climate-related intelligence work, but it also raises practical questions. By allowing classified submissions, it preserves sensitive analytic methods and sources; however, it risks limiting public scrutiny of climate-risk findings.
The statute does not specify funding levels, interagency data-sharing arrangements, or how the IC will handle the cross-cutting nature of climate impacts across national security and economic domains. Finally, the reliance on periodic assessments raises questions about how contemporaneous climate developments are incorporated between reporting cycles and what triggers interim updates outside the formal cadence.
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