The Military Advisory Board is a defense advisory group composed of eleven retired three-star and four-star generals and admirals who were convened to study the implications of global warming for U.S. national security. In April 2007, the group issued its report entitled “National Security and the Threat of Climate Change”. The report projects that climate changes will pose a serious threat to America’s national security particularly by creating unsteadiness in already unpredictable regions. The report was commissioned by the Center for Naval Analyses, a government-financed research group.
Principal findings: The Military Advisory Board looked at the conditions climate changes are likely to produce, how those conditions may influence America’s national security interests, and what actions the nation should take to address the these consequences. Its principal findings included the following:
- Projected climate change poses a serious threat to America’s national security.
- Climate change acts as a threat multiplier for unsteadiness in some of the most volatile regions of the world.
- Climate change, national security, and energy dependence are a related set of global challenges.
Recommendations: Based on these findings, the group made several recommendations, including the following:
- The national security consequences of climate change should be completely integrated into national security and national defense strategies. The intelligence community should integrate climate consequences into its National Intelligence Estimate.
- The U.S. should entrust to a stronger national and international role to help steady climate change at levels that will avoid significant disruption to global security and stability.
- The U.S. should commit to global partnerships that help fewer developed nations build the capacity and resiliency to better manage climate impacts.
- The Department of Defense should enhance its operational ability by accelerating the adoption of enhanced business processes and innovative technologies that effect in improved U.S. combat power through energy efficiency.
- The Department of Defense should conduct an estimation of the impact on U.S. military installations worldwide of rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and other projected climate change impacts over the next 30 to 40 years.