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The US Department of Defense’s Role in Integrating Climate Change into Security Planning
This piece by Sherri Goodman and Max Nathanson was originally published at the New Security Beat.
The recent floods and landslides in Brazil, displacing almost 100,000 and killing at least 100, reminds us that climate change-fueled extreme weather, combined with an intense El Niño, is a deadly combination. Governor Eduardo Leite of the southern Brazilian province, Rio Grande du Sol, described the devastation the region was subjected to as “unprecedented.” As President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva noted: “We need to stop running behind disasters. We need to see in advance what calamities might happen and we need to work.”
How should the US government integrate these climate change concerns into its defense and security planning? More specifically, what roles should the Department of Defense (DoD) play in this overall effort, and how should DoD integrate within the overall government effort?
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CCS Director Testifies Before US Senate and UK Parliament on Climate Security
This week CCS Director Erin Sikorsky testified before the US Senate Budget Committee in a hearing, “Budgeting for the Storm: Climate Change and the Costs to National Security,” and the UK House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee as part of its inquiry into climate security.
The Senate hearing also featured CCS Advisory Board member retired Admiral Dennis McGinn, a longtime leader on this topic. Read his testimony here. McGinn’s testimony focused on his experience in the military in tackling climate threats, and referenced both the CCS-led Climate Security Plan for America, which he endorsed, and the CCS Security Threat Assessment of Global Climate Change.
US Senate Budget Committee Hearing, “Budgeting for the Storm: Climate Change and the Costs to National Security,” May 15, 2024. From Left: Dennis V. McGinn (VADM USN Ret.), Erin Sikorsky (CCS), Rick Dwyer (HRMFFA), Tim Gallaudet (RDML USN Ret.), and Mackenzie Eaglen (AEI).
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A Livable Climate Needs Help From Youth; the U.S. Can Foster It
By Elsa Barron and Katherine Waters
This piece was originally published at the United States Institute of Peace.
Humanity is at a tipping point. New data confirms 2023 as Earth’s hottest-ever recorded year. Increasing temperatures, rising seas and extreme weather are heightening tension over resources, damaging people’s health and livelihoods, and displacing millions. Young people have one of the largest stakes in climate decisions made today, for they face the lasting environmental consequences of climate change — and the consequent threats to peace and security. Yet youth remain mostly excluded from decision-making on climate. U.S. leadership, via three steps in particular, can bolster genuine youth leadership on climate that prioritizes the welfare of future generations.
Government officials and other decisionmakers will meet next month to set the agenda for the next United Nations climate conference, COP29, in November. As with each global conference in this series, stretching back nearly 30 years, we must once again confront the ways in which international climate negotiations exclude young people from decision-making about their futures.
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China and Ecological Security: The seeds of conflict, or the roots of détente?
As China and the United States continue to compete in many domains, ecological security may be an opportunity for cooperation. China’s impact on ecological security internally and externally can either be a geopolitical liability or a source of legitimacy. Together, these titanic countries could spur a reformation of global governance around agriculture, and trade in wild animals and plants. Such cooperation could improve food security and resilience while boosting sustainability and combating the climate and biodiversity crises–not to mention reducing the possibility of regional or global conflict.
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