Military: Climate change makes U.S. more vulnerable
The military is bracing for a global warming crisis that will cause sea levels to rise by a foot to a foot and a half in next 20 to 50 years.
That will put at risk port facilities around the world, including some that are critical to the military, such as San Diego; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; and Norfolk, Va.
Inside the United States, more severe weather — hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires fueled by drought — will cause catastrophic damage that likely will require more frequent support from the National Guard.
Abroad, warming seas will change the map, most dramatically in the Arctic where polar ice caps are melting. That means the U.S. Navy will face new zones of competition with big rivals like China and Russia as new sea lanes emerge and new fossil fuel and mineral deposits become accessible.
In light of those developments, the Pentagon for the first time is laying out a Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap, which details how the U.S. military will prepare and respond to the fallout from global warming.
"In our defense strategy, we refer to climate change as a 'threat multiplier' because it has the potential to exacerbate many of the challenges we are dealing with today, from infectious disease to terrorism," Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel wrote in the introduction to the 20-page document. "We are already beginning to see some of these impacts."
On Monday, at an international meeting of defense ministers in Peru, Hagel unveiled the report, which outlines a long list of sweeping potential changes for the Defense Department:
• Humanitarian-assistance missions likely will become far more frequent.
• For the Marine Corps, rising sea levels could make it harder to mount amphibious landings.
• For the Air Force, changing weather patterns may make it harder to fly for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.
• For the Navy, new technology might be needed to operate ships in the icy-but-navigable waters of the Arctic.
• The Army could be called upon to help manage instability as densely populated coastal areas flood and mass migration creates turmoil and a breeding ground for extremist groups.
Environmental changes can create new health risks for troops, by enlarging infectious disease zones and boosting demand for health services, health surveillance or personal protective equipment.
On installations, flooding and erosion will threaten both the military's infrastructure and training areas.
Bases in the drought-prone West will have to consider new water management programs. Drought may lead to more dust that threatens military equipment and in turn require more maintenance or increased equipment costs.
The Pentagon is nearing completion on an assessment of the vulnerability of more than 7,000 bases and installations around the globe, the report said. And senior leaders are ordering a review of all budget plans, war game scenarios and off-the-shelf operational contingency plans to determine if they need revisions in light of projected impact of global warming.
The release of the report follows a related document that Hagel unveiled last year outlining a new strategy for the Arctic region. U.S. officials estimate that the Arctic holds 13% of the world's undiscovered oil reserves and 30% of undiscovered gas deposits.
Scientists are "converging toward a consensus" on the issue of global warming, Hagel said, and he urged decision-makers inside and outside the military to set aside the intense political debate.
"Politics or ideology must not get in the way of sound planning. Our armed forces must prepare for a future with a wide spectrum of possible threats, weighing risks and probabilities to ensure that we will continue to keep our country secure," Hagel wrote.