By: Elizabeth Mylin, Staff Writer
Over the past few decades, the federal government has said that the effects of climate change could potentially threaten national security, specifically, that food and water shortages could fuel disputes and instability around the world. For the first time, Pentagon officials are taking a more serious tone, warning that the changing climate poses an “immediate threat” to national security.[1]
Last week, the Department of Defense released its new plan, “Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap” highlighting how the U.S. military plans to adapt to the impacts of climate change. Climate change is discussed as a becoming a factor that should be incorporated into how the military undergoes its operations into the world today, not just limited to how climate change poses a future risk. Among the areas of concern in the report are disputes over natural resources, food scarcity, the effects of rising sea levels, and the potential for refugee crises.[2]
The report has quickly and unsurprisingly gained some criticism, claiming that there are bigger fish to fry—“Americans who might die at the hand of the Islamic State”, a Wall Street Journal editorial criticized, “won’t care that [Secretary of Defense Chuck] Hagel is mobilizing against melting glaciers.” [3] Apart from the exaggeration, the critics may have a point. The military should not be called upon in every situation that needs fixing. However, the report spells out a legitimate military role in combating global climate change. “Politics or ideology must not get in the way of sound planning,” points out Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel.[4]
The Department of Defense and the Pentagon have not specified how much funding it will need to implement plans in order to respond to climate change threats. Some members of Congress have began to suggest that the Department of Defense report was used simply as a political tool to further the Obama administrations agenda in combating climate change. “It is disappointing, but not surprising, that the president and his administration would focus on climate change when there are other, legitimate threats in the world,” Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) the Ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee and known climate change skeptic told the New York Times.[5] Yet, Pentagon officials continue to suggest the significance of the issue, saying that politics should not interfere with the Department of Defense’s ability to respond to potential threats.
“Climate change is a global problem. Its impacts do not respect national borders”, Secretary Hagel says in the report.[6]
In the past, the Pentagon and the Department of Defense’s remedy to climate change was focused mainly on organizing military installations to adapt to its effects, like protecting coastal naval bases from rising sea levels. The new Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap, however, demands that the military take a strategic approach in thinking about climate change in high-risk regions—for example, the ways in which lack of food and water, and now the spread of disease can challenge already weak governments and create openings for conditions that foster terrorism.
“In our defense strategy, we refer to climate change as a “threat multiplier”, Secretary Hagel writes in the report’s foreword, “because it has the potential to exacerbate many of the challenges we are dealing with today—from infectious diseases to terrorism. We are already beginning to see some of the impacts.” [7]
It is likely that the threat of climate change and the corresponding legislative and executive orders will infiltrate the legal system begging the question of how climate change should be handled. As the Department of Defense moves forward with plans for climate change adaption, only time will tell if this plan is the right response to widespread environmental concerns.
[1] Department of Defense: 2014 Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap. http://www.acq.osd.mil/ie/download/CCARprint.pdf.
[2] Id.
[3] http://online.wsj.com/articles/the-pentagon-goes-to-climate-war-1413329782
[4] Department of Defense: 2014 Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap. http://www.acq.osd.mil/ie/download/CCARprint.pdf.
[5] http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/14/us/pentagon-says-global-warming-presents-immediate-security-threat.html?_r=0.
[6] Department of Defense: 2014 Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap. http://www.acq.osd.mil/ie/download/CCARprint.pdf.
[7] Id.
