The Department of Defense (DoD) has issued a report detailing how it plans to adapt to climate change. Beyond impacting the logistics of moving military supplies and personnel around the world, the DoD expects that climate change will be an immediate threat to national security interests, causing “increased risks from terrorism, infectious disease, global poverty and food shortages.” (Davenport, 2014)

It is very telling when a reserved institution such as the DoD acknowledges the impact of climate change and is actively working to integrate the effects of climate change into its operations. Unfortunately, this is unlikely to sway the hearts and minds of the Republican leadership on Capitol Hill. The DoD’s opinions and decisions have minimal impact on elections, and there are considerable local and national interests that are invested in ignoring climate change.

There is one very bright spot, however. The DoD invests a considerable amount of money in the development and deployment of new technology, and so is a major driver of technological development in the United States. If it decides that alternative energy technologies are necessary to adapt to climate change, we can expect to see a significant boost for the alternative energy industry. This is more likely that it seems; transporting heavy liquid fuels around the world is both expensive and dangerous. There have been instances where American fuel trucks traveling through Pakistan were blocked by military leaders due to shifting sentiments between Pakistan and the United States.

Additionally, it is very telling that when removed from an elected position, even staunch Republicans like Hagel (at the time, Secretary of Defense) assert the importance of addressing climate change. Note that this is a particularly huge change in the case of Hagel, considering he was one of two Senators to block the United States from ratifying the Kyoto Protocol.

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Pentagon Signals Security Risks of Climate Change 

The report is the latest in a series of studies highlighting the national security risks of climate change. But the Pentagon’s characterization of it as a present-day threat demanding immediate action represents a significant shift for the military, which has in the past focused on climate change as a future risk.

Before, the Pentagon’s response to climate change focused chiefly on preparing military installations to adapt to its effects, like protecting coastal naval bases from rising sea levels. The new report, however, calls on the military to incorporate climate change into broader strategic thinking about high-risk regions — for example, the ways in which drought and food shortages might set off political unrest in the Middle East and Africa.