State Department Ignores Climate Change in the Indo-Pacific Region
By Marc Kodack
The U.S. State Department recently published an “implementation update” of its Indo-Pacific strategy, titled “A Free and Open Indo-Pacific: Advancing a Shared Vision.” It provides a summary of the State Department’s initiatives over the last two years – namely its’ “diplomatic, economic, governance and security” actions to implement a whole-of-government strategy in the region. Ideally, it should complement the Department of Defense’s Indo-Pacific Strategy Report. While the Pentagon report mentions climate change as a “transnational challenge” within its report, the State Department document includes no mention of climate change, despite severe consequences for the region, including as it relates to transboundary water issues, such as the Mekong River, which are creating tensions among multiple countries that share a river system. (more…)
Defense Planning Can Guide the National Response to Storms and Rising Seas
By Jeffrey Peterson
Author of the new book “A New Coast: Strategies for Responding to Devastating Storms and Rising Seas”
The United States Department of Defense is coming to grips with the implications of climate change for national security, including the threat that more severe coastal storms and rising sea level pose to domestic military bases.
Because military bases depend on surrounding communities, decisions about how to protect or relocate military facilities need to be made in cooperation with state and local officials. More importantly, a determined effort by the Department of Defense to prepare bases for storms and rising seas could prove to be a catalyst that prompts the country as a whole to better recognize and respond to these risks. (more…)
General Middendorp: Climate Warning Signs Are Flashing Red
In a recent speech to the European Parliament, General Tom Middendorp, Chief of Defence of the Netherlands (Ret), and Chair of the International Military Council on Climate and Security, which the Center for Climate and Security co-facilitates, made a bold case for significant preventive and preparatory action on climate change. First, highlighting the threat, he noted: (more…)
Meet the 2019-20 Climate and Security Advisory Group Fellows
In response to increasing interest in career pathways for climate and security practitioners, the Climate and Security Advisory Group (CSAG) has developed a community-wide Climate Security Fellows Program and is pleased to announce the 2019-20 class of CSAG Climate and Security Fellows. (more…)