A coalition of prominent military and national security experts, including former advisors to Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush, released three documents this week highlighting the “significant and direct risks to US military readiness, operations and strategy” as well as “national security and international security” posed by climate change.
The three documents include: a military and national security experts consensus statement on climate change; a climate and security advisory working group briefing book for the next administration; and a military experts report on vulnerability of U.S. military bases to rising seas.
“The military has long had a tradition of parsing threats through a ‘Survive to Operate’ lens, meaning we cannot assume the best case scenario, but must prepare to be able to effectively operate even under attack. Dealing with climate risks to operational effectiveness must therefore be a core priority,” according to one of the the reports. “The complex relationship between sea level rise, storm surge and global readiness and responsiveness must be explored down to the operational level, across the Services and Joint forces, and up to a strategic level as well.”
The effort was coordinated by the Center for Climate and Security.