DoD Publishes Their Climate Risk Analysis

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Department of Defense, Office of the Undersecretary for Policy (Strategy, Plans, and Capabilities). 2021. Department of Defense Climate Risk Analysis. Report Submitted to National Security Council.

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FOREWORD To keep the nation secure, we must tackle the existential threat of climate change. The unprecedented scale of wildfires, floods, droughts, typhoons, and other extreme weather events of recent months and years have damaged our installations and bases, constrained force readiness and operations, and contributed to instability around the world. Climate change touches most of what this Department does, and this threat will continue to have worsening implications for U.S. national security.

To meet this complex challenge, the Department of Defense (DoD) is integrating climate change considerations at all levels, including in our risk analyses, strategy development, planning, modeling, simulation, and war gaming. The DoD Climate Risk Analysis (DCRA) is a critical step for incorporating climate change security implications at a strategic level.

As the global and cross-cutting consequences of climate change increase the demands on the Department, the DCRA provides a starting point for a shared understanding of the mission risks of climate change— and lays out a path forward. For example, climate considerations will be included in key DoD documents, such as the forthcoming National Defense Strategy, which guides the ways that DoD meets national security challenges. Coupled with the Climate Adaptation Plan, which will help the Department operate under changing climate conditions, the DCRA reflects the Department’s focus on confronting climate change.

Climate change presents serious risks, but DoD, along with the entire U.S. government, as well as our allies and partners, is determined to address this common threat. The Department will work to prevent, mitigate, and respond to the defense and security risks associated with climate change. By doing so, we will ensure that we continue to fulfill our mission of defending the United States.

Lloyd J. Austin III, Secretary of Defense

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C. FUNDING The Department intends to prioritize funding DoD Components in support of exercises, wargames, analyses, and studies of climate change impacts on DoD missions, operations, and global stability. The President’s FY 2022 Budget request included funds to incorporate climate risk into exercises, wargames, analyses, and studies. Appropriated funds will be allotted via existing governance structures including the Combatant Commander Exercise Engagement and Training Transformation program and the Wargaming Incentive Fund. Box 4 provides a list of examples of climate risk that could be included in future modeling, simulation, and wargaming.

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“No nation can find lasting security without addressing the climate crisis.” — Secretary of Defense Austin, April 2021

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