The National Research Council’s report on climate change and national security, “Climate and Social Stress: Implications for Security Analysis,” was released this morning.  Here is the overview from their website:

Scientific evidence indicates that the global climate is moving outside the bounds of past experience and can be expected to put new stresses on societies around the world, prompting examination of a variety of plausible scenarios through which climate change might pose or alter security risks for the United States. A new report from the National Research Council offers recommendations to improve understanding of the links between climate and security, monitoring and analysis of the factors linking climate change to security risks, and the ability to anticipate potential security risks arising from climate phenomena.

The report focuses on social and political stresses outside the United States, and on security risks that might arise from situations in which climate-related events have consequences that exceed the capacity of affected populations to cope and respond. It also emphasizes climate-driven security risks that call for action within the coming decade either to anticipate or respond to security threats.

The full report can be downloaded here.