DOD Combines Adaptation and Mitigation to Face Climate Change > U.S. Department of Defense > Department of Defense News

The Defense Department is actively taking a two-pronged approach to confronting climate change by avoiding the unmanageable while managing the inevitable, a Defense Department climate official said.

During Earth Day speeches on Monday at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, Kate White, director of the DOD Climate Resilience Program, emphasized how seriously DOD is taking climate change amid increased demands on military operations at home and all over the world.

“The problem we face is that environmental conditions (directly influence) military planning and they influence every form of decision-making,” she said. “For instability, competition and conflict, we need to pay attention to climate.”

To meet the challenges of climate change, White explained how DOD is actively pursuing the concept of climate resilience, which refers to the ability to anticipate, prepare for, and adapt to changing climate conditions – while simultaneously respond and respond quickly. recovering from climate disruptions.

In pursuing such resilience, White combines the concepts of adaptation and mitigation.

“When we talk about adaptation, we’re really talking about managing the inevitable changes that are coming,” White said.

As an example of this, White cited data showing that even if all greenhouse gas emissions stopped tomorrow, there would still be hundreds of years of rising sea levels and changes in atmospheric temperatures that would impact the planet.

“We have enough information now to adapt; we don’t have to wait for perfect information,” White said, likening making climate adaptation decisions to making decisions on the battlefield.

On mitigation, White said managing greenhouse gases is a top priority for DOD.

“If we don’t do anything about greenhouse gas emissions… the air will get warmer and we will experience the same kind of extreme events we are experiencing now.”

When preparing for future changes in the climate to maintain climate resilience, White said it is imperative to look at the widest range of models possible.

“When we look at (the models) for decision making, (DOD needs) to know what all those futures are so we can (ensure) that our equipment will work under those conditions, our people will function, our planes will fly, our boats will be able to move quickly,” she said.

White provided a series of examples of how recent climate changes have had direct impacts on individual branches of the military, including an increase in flooding at U.S. and overseas military installations, thawing of Arctic permafrost and a strain on Air Force resources due to an increasing demand to fight forest fires.

“You can’t adequately prepare for the future if you’re constantly reacting to what’s happening now,” White said.

Going forward, the Department of Defense will continue to implement its climate adaptation plan by making “hard decisions” on how best to manage installations vulnerable to climate change, working to reduce operational energy use, and supporting innovation.

“We have such innovative people in America, (and) we need to put them to work,” White said. “We need to adequately support them to come up with the kinds of technological innovations we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

White presented her Earth Day remarks – followed by a brief question and answer – to a group of military fellows completing their professional military training at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. According to the institute’s website, the program “offers U.S. and international military officers the opportunity to spend a year auditing graduate-level courses, participating in security-related seminars, and participating in a security-focused research working group with faculty, students and researchers. policy makers.”