“We in the very top of the Navy absolutely believe that climate change is real, it is a threat to national security, and we have to deal with it now.”
Rear Admiral Titley said this yesterday at the international climate negotiations here in Cancun at the U.S. Department of Defense Panel on National Security Implications of Climate Change. He went on to say that “our world is changing because of gasses that are put there [in the atmosphere] by human activity.”
These words followed those of Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy Amanda Dory who said that “the climate is already changing in troubling ways that have implications for national security.” She described how climate change is being considered by the the DOD as one of the many factors making the world a less safe place in the future. Climate change makes the list of “Enduring Trends” in the Quadrennial Defense Review because it “will shape the future security environment for the foreseeable future” along with resource scarcity, disease, and demographics. According to Dory, the Quadrennial Defense Review is the DOD's “preeminent defense strategy document” that evaluates “plausible future challenges," in terms of prevention and “deterrents of future conflicts."
Dory touched on how climate change will destabilize weak states and challenge strong states. Other speakers cited research related to climate change and investments by the military to reduce its carbon footprint.
No comments:
Post a Comment