The DoD’s 2014 Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap lays out a comprehensive strategy to address potential climate challenges.
U.S. Military Personnel Worldwide as of September 2011 (proteckmachinery)
On October 13, 2014, the Department of Defense (DoD) released its FY 2014 Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap, which sets forth adaptation activities to increase its resilience to climate impacts by integrating climate considerations into its plans, operations, and training activities. The DoD noted that the foundation for its strategic policy climate adaptation began with the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review which seeks to adapt, shape, and rebalance the military to face strategic challenges and opportunities.
The plan lays out four lines of effort – planning and operations; training and testing; built and natural infrastructure; and acquisition and supply chain – to achieve its three broad adaptation goals:
- — Identify and assess the climate impacts on DoD
- — Integrate climate considerations across DoD and manage associated risks
- — Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders on climate challenges
The DoD is engaged in two climate-action approaches – adaptation (efforts to plan for ongoing or potential changes) emphasized in the Adaptation Roadmap and mitigation (efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions). The Adaption Roadmap supports the Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan (SSPP), which details DoD’s progress and changes towards climate mitigation mainly through changes in energy use. The SSPP articulates DoD’s sustainability vision to maintain its ability to operate into the future without decline in the mission or supporting natural and man-made systems.
According to DoD, climate change is considered a “threat multiplier” due to its potential to intensify current challenges, such as infectious disease and terrorism, among others. Climate impact could demand more frequent military aid in the face of intense natural disasters. Rising sea levels and increased flooding threaten coastal military installations while extreme temperatures threaten training activities. Drawing on its baseline survey of more than 7,000 military facilities, the DoD highlighted recurrent flooding in the Hampton Roads region in Virginia – the world’s largest concentration of U.S. military sites – and plans to address a projected sea-level rise of 1.5 feet over the next 20-50 years.
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