National Security and the Nexus of Climate, Conflict and Migration

Feb 25, 2019 | Amanda Rodewald
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Does climate change pose a national security threat? That is the question to be addressed by a proposed Presidential Committee on Climate Security, according to a report by The Washington Post. The proposal to establish the committee follows several high-profile reports indicating that climate change does indeed threaten our security. Remember the Fourth National Climate Assessment report released in late November that warned of dire outcomes for the U.S., including a loss of up to 10 percent of GDP by 2100 — more than double the losses of the Great Recession? A mid-January Defense Department report identified climate change as both a national security issue and threat to U.S. military installations in many parts of the world.