Pentagon chief says climate change threatens national security
President-elect Donald Trump has described global warming as a hoax, but Pentagon officials say Americans have a responsibility to prepare for the future.
CLIMATE CHANGE A ‘NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT,’ REPUBLICAN-LED HOUSE DECLARES IN DEFENSE BILL VOTE
The surprising section calls global warming “a direct threat to the national security” and instructs the Pentagon to create a report on how climate change could affect the military. It asks for a list of 10 bases that could be susceptible to phenomena such as increased flooding and rising oceans.
“Most Republicans still do not regard climate change as a hoax,” White Ayres, a Republican strategist, told the Times last month. “But the entire climate change debate has now been caught up in the broader polarization of American politics.
A new NATO special report concludes that climate change is the ultimate “threat multiplier”—meaning that it can exacerbate political instability in the world’s most unstable regions—because by intensifying extreme weather events like droughts, climate change stresses food and water supplies. In poor, arid countries already facing shortages, this increased stress can lead to disputes and violent conflicts over scarce resources. As the report concludes:
“… food, water and climate are intimately connected with the sectors of economic development, demography, energy, ecosystems and urban planning—to name but a few interrelated sectors. The international community must improve the international food market to increase stability of prices and availability. Last but not least, the Parties who have ratified the 2015 Paris climate agreement must live up to their pledges, including on climate financing for developing countries.”
‘The contentious debate over climate change is entering a new phase, with skeptics in the Trump administration poised to roll back regulations governing everything from clean-water standards to fracking — convinced that doing so will boost the U.S. economy. But the Pentagon views the issue differently.
For Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, climate change represents a significant national security threat, one that's "impacting stability in areas of the world where our troops are operating today," according his written testimony to Congress provided in January ahead of his confirmation. The news site ProPublica was first to publish Mattis' remarks, pitting the retired Marine general's views against those held by the commander in chief and others in his administration.’
Unlike some in the Trump administration, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis believes climate change is real and that it poses a threat to international security, according to a US media report.
"Climate change is impacting stability in areas of the world where our troops are operating today," Mattis reportedly wrote.
"The effects of a changing climate—such as increased maritime access to the Arctic, rising sea levels, desertification, among others—impact our security situation," Mattis added.
Remarkable isn't it! This seems like a last throw of the dice with Republicans who are climate deniers and adherents of 'small government' - but ardent militarists who don't think enough is spent on defence. The warnings coming from the Pentagon on climate change as a threat to national security have been loud and clear for a long time now. OK, it's not the greatest of reasons to try to persuade and move people into climate action, reinforcing national self-interest when we need a new concept of environment security based on a planetary compact. But part of me thinks that the approach should be effective in making the point that the threat from climate change is real and that no nation can build its walls high enough to protect itself from its disastrous impact. The arguments, and the Pentagon warnings cited, should elicit some response. In the past, though, it has met with silence. It plainly contradicts their political ideology that sees climate science as 'made-up' in order to extend government and regulation and raise taxes. The problem is that the skies and the oceans don't care about political ideology, and those charged with a responsibility for security also have to look reality square in the face - and the reality is climate change. That reality is not going away - and neither are the many active, informed citizens who care about the world and who keep insisting on the need to face reality. So here is the reality check for the deniers, on the part of citizens, who mobilise the forces of will, intelligence, reason and ethics to give us the voluntary restraint on appetites we need, or on the part of top-down governmental force, to impose constraint involuntarily, for reasons of security and survival, or on the part of the external force of natural necessity. Those are the only options.
It's bad enough the way that right-wing climate deniers have asserted political ideology against science (and religion and ethics too, I'd say) - but now it seems that their denial of reality will force them to deny the military and security establishment too. The political ideology simply has to crumble. When the top U.S. military men and strategists go to Congress and tell those charged with the responsibility of governing the country that climate change is real and is a big threat to national security, then it becomes clear to all but the most deluded, swivel-eyed ideologue that phrases like ‘it’s made-up’, ‘it’s a socialist/liberal conspiracy’, ‘it’s a ruse to raise taxes and extend government and regulation’, ‘it’s the new religion of climate alarmism’ etc etc are the ravings of knaves and fools, of several stripes, those profiting from fossil fuels, those funding denial, and those who so happy as to have their prejudices massaged as to be willingly fooled. We live in an age of collapsing assumptions. The reality is plain for all those with the nous and the nerve to see it. And that leaves the future open to us to create a commonwealth based on peace and cooperation on earth - and that would a world of genuine security based on something more enduring than national self-interest, a world built upon respect and reverence for our common home, for each other, and for other beings and bodies.
Three cheers for Carlos Curbelo!
“A bipartisan majority of Members are on the record saying climate change and sea level rise must be taken into account when planning for our national defense,” Curbelo said in a statement. “With military bases like Naval Air Station Key West extremely vulnerable to sea level rise, this vote was a huge win for our coastal military communities. I’m proud of the Climate Solutions Caucus Members who worked to defeat this amendment and I look forward to continuing to build momentum for this cause in the Congress.”
“It’s important to give the Pentagon the tools to plan for this threat to our military readiness, but of course we need to take a lot more concrete steps to solve this carbon solution before it’s too late,” said League of Conservation Voters deputy legislative director Alex Taurel.
Taurel said that funding for green energy, preparing for the effects of climate change and stopping offshore drilling are three policy areas where moderate Republicans could join Democrats, but that more Republicans must speak about ways to reduce carbon emissions.
“This is called the Climate Solutions Caucus, so that’s the key kind of yardstick they should be measured by,” Taurel said. “To what extent are they supporting solutions to climate change?”
Curbelo argues he’s doing his part by urging his colleagues to buck conservatives in Congress.
“I assume that now when we get into appropriations season there will be many amendments where I assume our group is going to be critical to blocking bad policy,” Curbelo said last month.