DoD Roadmap

     With climate change threatening to reduce the availability of the most basic resources in the most unstable regions of the world, it's easy to understand why the United States Department of Defense (DoD) has issued a Climate Change Adaption Roadmap. It seems that now, more than ever, "Climate change represents a foreign policy issue," because of this, "foreign policy must become part of the solution to the problems thrown up by climate change" (Beck, 2). My focus of interest in this course concerns such foreign policy that the United States military has and is continuing to put forth concerning the national and global security threats that Climate Change has, and is predicted to cause.
     In November 2006, the British foreign minister Margaret Beckett stated that "wars fought over limited resources - land, drinking water, oil - are as old as human history" (Beck, 2). As these resource become scarcer, due to both an increasing population and global climate change, tension is building and the risk of future violence brought on by civil unrest is growing by the day. The 2014 Climate Change Adaption Roadmap details how climate change affects the DoD's operations, how the department will adapt to and mitigate climate change threats, and how the department will coordinate with other entities addressing climate change. The following is an excerpt from the Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel's forward, which focuses on the uncertainty of the future and how it does not deter the military from taking action towards adapting and mitigating climate change impacts:


A changing climate will have real impacts on our military and the way it executes its missions. This military could be called upon more often to support civil authorities, and provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in the face of more frequent and more intense natural disaster. Our coastal installations are vulnerable to rising sea levels and increased flooding, while droughts, wildfires, and more extreme temperatures could threaten many of our training activities. Our supply change could be impacted, and we will need to ensure our critical equipment works under more extreme weather conditions. Weather has always affected military operations, and as the climate changes, the way we execute may be altered or constrained.


While scientists are converging toward consensus on future climate projections, uncertainty remains. But this cannot be and excuse for delaying action. Every day, our military deals with global uncertainty. Our planners know that, as military strategist Carl von Clausewitz wrote, "All action must, to a certain extent, be planned in a mere twilight."


It is in this context that DoD is releasing a Climate Change Adaption Roadmap. Climate change is a long-term trend, but with wise planning and risk mitigation now, we can reduce adverse impacts downrange.