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Lack of Discussion of Climate Change Effects on Federal Water Infrastructure
By The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) released a joint report at the end of 2019 on their water-related infrastructure that went largely unnoticed. Notably, however, the report omits discussion of climate change implications for this aging infrastructure. The report includes infrastructure that the two entities collaboratively operate, as well as respective programs for “power generation, water supply, navigation, flood risk reduction, [and] recreation.” While the benefits and challenges to different types of infrastructure are summarized in the first section of the report – e.g., dams, hydropower facilities, navigation (ports, locks, and dredging), canals and pipelines, bridges and roads, levees – climate change is inexplicably not mentioned as being a challenge to infrastructure. Thus, there is no consideration of the consequences of climate change effects on any of this infrastructure (see here for effects to interstate highway bridges). (more…)
U.S. Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs: Climate Change Impacts National Security
Dr. Mark Esper, U.S. Secretary of Defense, and GEN Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, address climate change threats to the military before the House Armed Services Committee – February 26, 2020
On February 26, 2020, the House Armed Services Committee held a hearing on “The Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Budget Request from the Department of Defense.” Witnesses providing written statements and answering questions included Dr. Mark Esper, U.S. Secretary of Defense and GEN Mark Milley, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff. Both Secretary Esper and General Milley identified climate change as a phenomenon that has impacts on the military and national security, and that investments need to be made now in order to address future risks. Below is a verbatim transcript of the exchanges between Members of Congress and the two witnesses on climate change and climate-related topics.
RELEASE: Future Climate Change Presents High-to-Catastrophic Security Threat, Warn U.S. National Security, Military and Intelligence Experts in New Assessment
Washington, DC, February 24, 2020 — In a comprehensive report released today by the “National Security, Military and Intelligence Panel (NSMIP)” of the Center for Climate and Security, experts warn of High-to-Catastrophic threats to security from plausible climate change trajectories – the avoidance of which will require “quickly reducing and phasing out global greenhouse gas emissions.” The panel, made up of national security, military and intelligence experts, analyzed the globe through the lens of the U.S. Geographic Combatant Commands, and concluded that “Even at scenarios of low warming, each region of the world will face severe risks to national and global security in the next three decades. Higher levels of warming will pose catastrophic, and likely irreversible, global security risks over the course of the 21st century.”
The report will be officially launched this afternoon at 3:30pm EST in a briefing at the Rayburn House Office Building (Gold Room 2168) featuring distinguished members of the expert panel. The briefing will also be webcast live, and is hosted by the Center for Climate and Security (CCS), an institute of the Council on Strategic Risks (CSR), in partnership with the Henry M. Jackson Foundation (HMJ) and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI). (more…)
Center for Climate and Security Director Conger Testifies Before Senate Special Committee on the Climate Crisis
John Conger, Director of the Center for Climate and Security, testifies before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on the Climate Crisis
On February 13, John Conger, Director of the Center for Climate and Security and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations and Environment, testified before the U.S. Senate Democrats’ Special Committee on the Climate Crisis with Advisory Board Member Rear Admiral Ann Phillips, USN (Ret) and the Chief Operating Officer of the American Security Project Andrew Holland, discussing the implications of climate change on national security.
Here are links to the statements of Mr. Conger, RADM (Ret) Phillips, and Mr. Holland, as well as Senator Duckworth’s opening statement. While John Conger made a brief opening statement, he offered the Center for Climate and Security’s full Climate Security Plan for America as his submitted testimony. The hearing was summarized here by Hawaii Public Radio, but the full hearing video is worth a watch:
The Senate Democrats’ Special Committee on the Climate Crisis is a parallel to the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, and is chaired by Senator Brian Schatz. The climate security hearing was led by Senator Tammy Duckworth.