Enabling a more flexible integration of the Coast Guard and the Navy deserves further consideration specifically for the security of the Arctic region. Typically, national security threats are understood as competitive state actors with varying capacities that may span conventional, nuclear, and cyber domains, as well as non-state actors, which may adopt asymmetric strategies. This instability may provide fodder for terrorist organizations, which are adept at exploiting instability to recruit foot soldiers for extremist causes.6. When considering natural or environmental conditions such as climate change, however, threats must be understood from a wholistic perspective: any factor that has the capacity and ability to impede a state’s objective may be threatening, regardless of intent. Each presidential administration must submit the report to Congress every year, unless a waiver is granted. His research focuses on critical theoretical approaches to security and their application to environmental change, Australian security policy, climate politics, and security dynamics in Asia and the Pacific. St. Martin’s Press: New York, NY 1994. frequency of intense storms in the future). Learn about the impact and consequences of climate change and global warming for the environment and our lives. U.S. National Security. The United States continues to be involved in myriad international conflicts: military operations in the Yemen; trade policy jousting with China; and an increasingly consequential Arctic becoming a new arena among Great Power competitors. The “New Era” 1991 national security strategy of President George H.W. “Russia is Testing Nuclear Weapons at Remote Artic Bases, Despite Global Ban, U.S. Says,” Newsweek, May 30, 2019. https://www.newsweek.com/russia-nuclear-weapons-testing-arctic-us-claims-low-yield-ban-1439109, 31 Houghton, Vince, “The U.S. Military bases, particularly those Army bases that support large amounts of armored and tracked vehicles in the coastal states of Georgia, Mississippi, and North Carolina, are under threat. Climate change was first publicly recognized as a major concern for the Pentagon in May 1990, when the U.S. Climate Events and National Security Outcomes. Implications of climate change for Australia's national security On 14 June 2017 the Senate referred the following matter to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee for inquiry and report by 4 December 2017: Implications of climate change for Australia’s national security. A budget that is explicit in addressing this tension is necessary. Budget debates are focused on fifth generation fighter jets and upgrading the nuclear triad, but neither will matter if the United States does not have capacity to project power or maintain basic security in a world made unstable by the climate. These effects will have particularly important security implications for major legacy hydrocarbon producers and countries that invested heavily in energy exploration and infrastructure during the 21st-century commodity boom (2002 to 2014). “Shift the Coast Guard to DoD,” Proceedings, 143, No. National Security and the Threat of Climate Change, CNA Corporation, Alexandria, Va. 2Testimony of ADM Joseph Prueher, USN (Ret. A terror attack, he explains, captures everyone’s attention and is a visible security threat. Implications for US National Security of Anticipated Climate Change Key Points “Carter: Return to Sequestration Biggest Threat to National Security,” Military, 2016. https://www.military.com/daily-news/2016/03/17/carter-return-sequestration-biggest-threat-national-security.html, 5 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018, H.R. A new Arctic strategy needs to be integrated into the broader national security and defense strategies; otherwise the United States’ overall security will be undermined by competition from rival states in the Arctic. Climate changes uniquely affects U.S. Northern Command, whose mission is protecting the homeland, and in particular Alaska and other northern territories, from potential state actors seeking to spy on, invade, or disrupt the United States.29 Given their aspirations in the Arctic, Russia and China are the obvious regional competitors. U.S. National Security. Indeed, both the congressionally-mandated 2018 National Climate Assessment (NCA) and United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports make clear that … In recent documents the Trump Administration has notably prioritized great power competition with China and Russia over terrorism, evidenced by changes in budget, resources and engagement.33 Yet the Trump administration neglected to acknowledge climate change as a threat in the National Security Strategy.34 This decision is problematic: by omitting particular threats that do not conform to a narrative, the administration constrains its own worldwide threat assessment. The accelerating rate of decline in Arctic sea ice, which has now reached 12.8 percent over each decade relative to the 1981-2010 average, has enabled more military and economic activity in the region.1 In order to better understand the national security implications of climate change, three topics must be explored: (1) the changing definition of threats; (2) budget prescription and flexibility, and; (3) developing new approaches towards a changing Arctic. Since 1991, during each presidential administration climate change has been mentioned in the national security strategy, and in most cases directly addressed. While climate scientists have been aware of the effect of carbon emissions on average worldwide temperatures for several decades, the 2010s have seen consecutive hottest years on record, along with storms, droughts and wildfires of intensifying power and destructiveness. Naval War College mace" src="https://dnnlgwick.blob.core.windows.net/portals/0/Images/Menu/Menu-Academics&Programs.jpg?sr=b&si=DNNFileManagerPolicy&sig=nXsWrB8zrdqiWhtDhqLPe4cLW4U6GZzi%2B9Y1t9yu0ww%3D" style="max-width: 250px;" />, McCarty Little Hall building, Anchor on U.S. The changing climate also affects national security and economic interests in the oceans. It is an outcome of a NATO Advanced Research Workshop held during April 28-30, 2011 in Dubrovnik, Croatia, sponsored by the NATO Science for Peace and Security Program. 29 U.S. Northern Command, Specific Mission. 28 U.S. Coast Guard, “Timeline of Coast Guard Organizational History” United States Department of Homeland Security. Often the Director of National Intelligence’s testimony may contradict an administration’s official view of current threats, as was recently seen in the debate between former DNI Dan Coates and President Trump with regards to ISIS.7 Thus, the constant tug and pull between the executive and legislative branch will continue to exist, with congressional hearings critiquing executive policies and funding mechanisms in tension with executive orders. Stavridis says global climate change, which is causing the polar cap melt, has an especially “pernicious” effect on national security because it is hard to see and often occurs over time. Naval War College, Students of U.S. This August, Russia installed a nuclear power station in the Arctic, despite the concerns of activists over possible accidents with detrimental long-term environmental effects.32. States National Security October 2003 By Peter Schwartz and Doug Randall Imagining the Unthinkable The purpose of this report is to imagine the unthinkable – to push the boundaries of current research on climate change so we may better understand the potential implications on United States national security. Domestically, both states and the federal government have to consider the how adverse climate events such as wildfires will be exacerbated by climate change.15. Indeed, both the congressionally-mandated 2018 National Climate Assessment (NCA) and United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports make clear that the window to take collective … The National Security Strategy of the United States of America. In response to the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), the National Research Council appointed a committee operating under the auspices of the Naval Studies Board to study the national security implications of climate change for U.S. naval forces. 2500, 116th Cong. [Washington]: President of the U.S https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/NSS-Final-12-18-2017-0905.pdf, 35 United States. The National Security Strategy of the United States of America. The White House also released a new report on the national security implications of climate change and how the Federal government is rising to the challenge. 2017. Over the past three years climate change has been explicitly identified in national security assessments as a long-term threat to security. In May 2018, I was among numerous experts who gave evidence to a Senate committee examining the potential impacts of climate change on Australia’s national security. Climate Change and the National Defense Authorization Act (FY18-FY20), June 2020; Climate Change Implications for U.S. Military Aircraft, August 2019; The U.S. Department of Defense’s Forthcoming Climate Change Vulnerability Report: What to Expect and How Congress Should Use It, November 2018 Strategically and operationally, this affects both our ally’s and adversary’s behavior leading to the open-ended question—what does it mean if the Department of Defense (DoD) adopts a posture that focuses on the strategic implications of climate change? 2017. The second volume of the Fourth National Climate Assessment was released by the White House last Friday. Climate change and its resulting effects are likely to pose wide-ranging national security challenges for the United States and other countries over the next 20 years through the following pathways:  Threats to the stability of countries.  Increased risks to human health. The papers in this volume span a suite of climate change repercussions, paying particular attention to national security and human health aspects. This is complicated: The second-order effects of attempts to mitigate climate change will have seismic effects for global energy systems. This consensus study assessed the national security implications of climate change for the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. In the fiscal year 2020 the figure requested rose $8.8 billion.20 This lack of consistency in recent years is indicative of infrastructure’s low priority at the Pentagon. ), Member, Military Advisory Board, Center for Naval Analyses Corporation report National Security and the Threat of Climate Change, before the Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate, May 9, 2007. For nearly a decade, Dr. Schoonover has analyzed impacts of issues at the intersection of science and national security; in particular the national security implications of climate change, global ecological change, water and food security, and emergent and disruptive technologies. The national security implications of climate change impacts are far- reaching, as they may exacerbate existing stressors, contributing to poverty, environmental degradation, and political instability, providing enabling environments for terrorist activity abroad. Without this perspective, proper budgeting for threats on the scale of global climate disruption, in turn, does not occur. National Security Implications of Climate Change for U.S. The “Report on National Security Implications of Climate-Related Risks and a Changing Climate” was provided to Congress yesterday. It is an outcome of a NATO Advanced Research Workshop held during April 28-30, 2011 in Dubrovnik, Croatia, sponsored by the NATO Science for Peace and Security Program.  Adverse effects on food prices and availability. While the unclassified Project Iceworm demonstrated that NATO, under American leadership, attempted to build a network of nuclear weapons facilities in Greenland, the project was eventually shuttered in 1966 due to its lack of feasibility.31 Today, however, new technology may unlock the possibility of a nuclear Arctic. Washington, DC – On Wednesday, June 5, 2019 at 8:30 am, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence will convene an open hearing about the national security implications of climate change. To reduce the national security implications of climate change, combatant commands are integrating climate-related impacts into their planning cycles, officials said. The Plan Blew Up in Their Faces,” Time, May 7, 2019. https://time.com/5585149/arctic-nuclear-history/, 32 Sergeev, Lev and Maxim Shemetov, “Russia’s first seaborne nuclear powerplant sets sail across Arctic,” Reuters, August 23, 2019. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-nuclear-floating-plant/ russias-first-seaborne-nuclear-power-plant-sets-sail-across-arctic-idUSKCN1VD164, 33 United States. Videos from this event include: <img alt=