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September/October 2023 Update: Military Responses to Climate Hazards (MiRCH) Tracker

By Tom Ellison and Ethan Wong

In September and October 2023, the Military Responses to Climate Hazards (MiRCH) documented 19 militaries that deployed in response to floods, hurricanes, droughts, and wildfires in 14 countries, including Libya, Mexico, India, Ghana, the United States, Brazil, and elsewhere. 

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How China, Russia, the UK and US Militaries Deal With Climate Change

An interesting short piece at e-International Relations on the degree to which the militaries of some of the world’s major powers (China, Russia, UK and the US) incorporate climate change into their planning and operations.

General Wesley Clark On the Next Military Mission: Solar Energy

Forbes magazine ran a thoughtful piece today from Wesley Clark, retired Army General and former Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) of NATO. Clark details the military case for fully embracing solar energy, touching on the strategic benefits for the United States of moving away from centralized fossil fuel infrastructures, the cost benefits already realized, and the scale of emissions reductions that would result. In making the case for why the Department of Defense is, and should continue to be, a leader in this space, he states: (more…)

Defense Science Board Report on Climate Change and Security: List of Recommendations

In the 2012 U.S. State of the Union address, President Obama highlighted the role of the military in developing clean energy.  This was a welcome mention. Building off of that, the military may also play a role in mitigating the risks of climate change. As we highlighted previously, late last year the Defense Science Board Task Force on Trends and Implications of Climate Change for National and International Security released a report outlining what the national security community could do to better prepare for and integrate the risks of climate change into operations and objectives. It’s a long, but very interesting list, which is likely to be reviewed by the U.S. Department of Defense in the coming months. Below is a summary of the recommendations, found on pages xvi – xxii.  For the full report, click here.

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