“Harrowing” Intelligence Report Still Downplays Threat of Climate Change to National Security

Nov 11, 2021 | Jessica McKenzie
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The recent report was compiled at the request of President Joe Biden, who issued an Executive Order on “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad” a week after taking office.

It is the first-ever National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) to focus on the climate crisis, but a former intelligence analyst said the document downplays the risks.These events will strain governments and civil society and could fuel the rise of extremist groups; the report notes that most of the countries where Al Qaeda and ISIS operate are vulnerable to climate change. Countries will compete for scarce natural resources, including minerals and rare earths necessary for renewable energy projects; the report points out that “strategic competition” in the Arctic has already increased as sea ice recedes.

Some of the starkest language in the report concerns climate refugees.The report predicts tensions between nations will escalate as developed and developing countries argue over who bears a greater responsibility to act.