The original version of this article, by Erika Bolstad, appeared on ClimateWire.
A bipartisan group of defense experts and former military leaders are calling on the next administration to consider climate change as a grave threat to national security.
It’s not just about protecting military bases from sea-level rise, they argue in a climate consensus statement issued in advance of this week’s Climate and National Security Forum.
The effects of climate change present a risk to U.S. national security and international security, and the United States should advance a comprehensive policy for addressing the risk, its authors say.
The Pentagon must game out catastrophic climate scenarios, track trends in climate impacts, and collaborate with civilian communities, they say. Stresses from climate change can increase the likelihood of international or civil conflict, state failure, mass migration, and instability in strategically significant areas around the world.
Climate change presents a significant and direct risk to U.S. military readiness, operations, and strategy – and military leaders say it should transcend politics.
Sources: Michigan National Guard soldiers train at Camp Grayling, courtesy of Matthew B. Fredericks/U.S. Air Force.
