Pentagon
-
New Pentagon Inspector General Report on Climate Resilience in the Arctic: Key Takeaways
By Erin Sikorsky Last week, the Department of Defense (DoD) Inspector General (IG) released a new report evaluating the climate resilience of US military bases in the Arctic and Sub-Arctic that provides a revealing glimpse of some of the challenges and opportunities facing the DoD as it works to implement climate security measures across its…
-
Mainstreaming Climate Security: The FY22 National Defense Authorization Act
By John Conger Last week, President Biden signed the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), that Congress passed with overwhelmingly bipartisan support. The bill included numerous climate security measures that echo a number of key recommendations in the Center for Climate and Security’s Climate Security Plan for America (CSPA). Over the past several…
-
The Pentagon Previews Climate Adaptation Plan in Congressional Hearing
By John Conger On July 14, 2021, the Readiness Subcommittee of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee held a virtual hearing on the installations and environment portfolios of the Department of Defense (DoD). The witnesses were: Paul Cramer, the Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense (Sustainment); Jack Surash, the Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense (Installations, Energy…
-
U.S. Department of Defense in Focus: Budget Priorities and Questions for New Nominees
By Bill Beaver, Christine Parthemore & Erin Sikorsky On April 9, the Biden administration announced its topline budget priorities for the U.S. government, including for the Department of Defense (DoD). DoD funding will increase by 1.6%, which ends up being a slight decrease when adjusted for inflation. Specifics will be announced in the coming months.…
-
A Blueprint for the U.S. Department of Defense’s Strategic Assessment of Climate Change
This is an excerpt from an article published in War on the Rocks By Kate Guy and Erin Sikorsky One could be forgiven for thinking that a rising China is the only threat that the Department of Defense is preparing to confront. China is referred to as the “pacing threat” by senior defense officials, and…
-
For First Time, the Pentagon IG Annual Report Identifies Climate Change as Top Challenge
By Dr. Marc Kodack In another sign that the Department of Defense (DoD) is prioritizing climate security risks, the annual Inspector General (IG) summary of the Department’s top management challenges explicitly discusses climate change and extreme weather events. This is the first time the report has featured climate change, incorporating it along with global pandemics…
-
The Pentagon’s Global Supply Chain Threatened by Climate Change
By Dr. Marc Kodack Supply chains are the less visible parts of many large, global companies, such as Apple, Toyota, and Boeing. For each of these companies, their many suppliers incrementally provide parts that are eventually assembled into finished products, whether they are hand-held smartphones or part of vehicles that transport a few or many people.…
-
Despite Politics, the Pentagon Launches New Effort on Climate and Environmental Security
By John Conger The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has been addressing climate change issues and examining how they impact national security for a long time – across multiple Administrations, both Democrat and Republican. In recent years, the DoD has done so despite political pressures to the contrary, though prioritization of the issue declined significantly…