Last week the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA), a federally funded think tank for the Department of the U.S. Navy, published a report called “National Security and the Threat of Climate Change”. The CNA brought together eleven retired admirals and generals “to provide advice, expertise and perspective on the impact of climate change”. Most significantly the report explicitly calls on the US to engage in the international effort to stabilize climate change.

The report includes several formal findings. While these might seem like statements of the obvious, it is nevetheles significant to see them publicly articulated by a federally funded military research body:

* Projected climate change poses a serious threat to America’s national security.
* Climate change acts as a threat multiplier for instability in some of the most volatile regions of the world.
* Projected climate change will add to tensions even in stable regions of the world.
* Climate change, national security and energy dependence are a related set of global challenges.

The reports makes several specific recommendations, including the unlikely phrase “improved U.S. combat power through energy efficiency”:

* The national security consequences of climate change should be fully integrated into national security and national defense strategies.
* The U.S. should commit to a stronger national and international role to help stabilize climate changes at levels that will avoid significant disruption to global security and stability.
* The U.S. should commit to global partnerships that help less developed nations build the capacity and resiliency to better manage climate impacts.
* The Department of Defense should enhance its operational capability by accelerating the adoption of improved business processes and innovative technologies that result in improved U.S. combat power through energy efficiency.
* DoD should conduct an assessment of the impact on US military installations worldwide of rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and other possible climate change impacts over the next thirty to forty years.

The 40 page report can be downloaded here.