NRDC: Pentagon Sees Climate Change as Immediate Security Risk
The Department of Defense released its 2014 Climate Change Adaption Roadmap on Monday, outlining how the U.S. military plans to adapt to the impacts of climate change. For the first time, the Pentagon discusses climate change as an immediate risk--a factor that should be incorporated into how the military operates today, not just in future decisions.
The report, announced at a meeting of top defense officials in Peru, highlights just how central climate change is to the military’s core mission. The military’s clear-eyed perspective on climate change contrasts sharply with the denial, ducking and dodging that marks the stance of some members of Congress, who seem to think the issue will disappear if they continue to ignore it.
“We refer to climate change as a “threat multiplier,” writes Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in the report’s foreword, “because it has the potential to exacerbate many of the challenges we are dealing with today – from infectious disease to terrorism. We are already beginning to see some of these impacts.”