Combat vs. Climate

Oct 5, 2016 | Miriam Pemberton
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Our military calls climate change "an urgent and growing threat to our national security, contributing to increased natural disasters, refugee flows, and conflicts over basic resources like food and water." And this month the Obama administration announced a comprehensive strategy to incorporate climate change into our national security strategy. But there was no mention of money: how much this would cost or where the money would come from.

The Institute for Policy Studies is stepping in to fill the gap. IPS' new report, "Combat vs. Climate: The Military and Climate Security Budgets Compared," supplies the most accurate climate change budget currently available, drawing data from multiple agencies. It shows that though the Obama administration has managed to boost climate change spending about $2 billion a year since 2013, substantial new investment commensurate with the threat of a climate crisis has been blocked.