• woodrow wilson center
  • ecsp

New Security Beat

Subscribe:
  • mail-to
  • Who We Are
  • Topics
    • Population
    • Environment
    • Security
    • Health
    • Development
  • Columns
    • China Environment Forum
    • Choke Point
    • Dot-Mom
    • Navigating the Poles
    • New Security Broadcast
    • Reading Radar
  • Multimedia
    • Water Stories (Podcast Series)
    • Backdraft (Podcast Series)
    • Tracking the Energy Titans (Interactive)
  • Films
    • Water, Conflict, and Peacebuilding (Animated Short)
    • Paving the Way (Ethiopia)
    • Broken Landscape (India)
    • Scaling the Mountain (Nepal)
    • Healthy People, Healthy Environment (Tanzania)
  • Publications
  • Events
  • Contact Us

NewSecurityBeat

The blog of the Wilson Center's Environmental Change and Security Program
  • Erika Bolstad, ClimateWire

    Military Leaders Warn That Climate Poses Security Threats

    September 15, 2016 By Wilson Center Staff
    Michigan-Nat-Guard1

    The original version of this article, by Erika Bolstad, appeared on ClimateWire.

    A bipartisan group of defense experts and former military leaders are calling on the next administration to consider climate change as a grave threat to national security.

    It’s not just about protecting military bases from sea-level rise, they argue in a climate consensus statement issued in advance of this week’s Climate and National Security Forum.

    The effects of climate change present a risk to U.S. national security and international security, and the United States should advance a comprehensive policy for addressing the risk, its authors say.

    The Pentagon must game out catastrophic climate scenarios, track trends in climate impacts, and collaborate with civilian communities, they say. Stresses from climate change can increase the likelihood of international or civil conflict, state failure, mass migration, and instability in strategically significant areas around the world.

    Climate change presents a significant and direct risk to U.S. military readiness, operations, and strategy – and military leaders say it should transcend politics.

    Continue reading on ClimateWire.

    Sources: Michigan National Guard soldiers train at Camp Grayling, courtesy of Matthew B. Fredericks/U.S. Air Force.

    Topics: climate change, conflict, democracy and governance, energy, environment, environmental security, foreign policy, military, security, U.S.

Join the Conversation

  • RSS
  • subscribe
  • facebook
  • G+
  • twitter
  • iTunes
  • podomatic
  • youtube
Tweets by NewSecurityBeat

Trending Stories

  • unfccclogo1
  • Pop at COP: Population and Family Planning at the UN Climate Negotiations

Featured Media

Backdraft Podcast

play Backdraft
Podcasts

More »

What You're Saying

  • Ocean Fish Stocks on “Verge of Collapse,” Says IRIN Report Ocean Fish Stocks on “Verge of Collapse,” Says IRIN Report
    Kevin: I am an evangelical who disagrees with the Bible Thumpers/Literalists. The good news is that these...
  • Sophia Heat Pregnancy Photo High Temperatures Threaten Maternal and Newborn Health–Climate Change Policy Must Adjust
    Maya: Wow! Very informative!
  • A,Port,Las,Palmas,De,Gran,Canaria.,Canary,Islands,,Spain. China Leads the Race to the Bottom: Deep Sea Mining for Critical Minerals
    Jo-jo: Very Objective and I am surprised that circular economy is one of the factors to taking into account
  • woodrow
  • ecsp
  • RSS Feed
  • YouTube
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Home
  • Who We Are
  • Publications
  • Events
  • Wilson Center
  • Contact Us
  • Print Friendly Page

© Copyright 2007-2023. Environmental Change and Security Program.

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. All rights reserved.

Developed by Vico Rock Media

Environmental Change and Security Program

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center

  • One Woodrow Wilson Plaza
  • 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
  • Washington, DC 20004-3027

T 202-691-4000