Military must focus on short- and long-term challenges of climate change, report finds

Climate change may imperil the U.S. military's ability to train troops, maintain equipment and facilities and operate effectively both at home and abroad, according to a new report on global warming's effect on national security.

Climate change may imperil the U.S. military's ability to train troops, maintain equipment and facilities and operate effectively both at home and abroad, according to a new report on global warming's effect on national security.

The study, released Wednesday by the Rand Corp., a California-based nonprofit think tank, was designed to help the Defense Department identify ways to protect troops and government property from extreme heat, flooding, wildfires and other conditions that are either driven by or exacerbated by climate change.

The report offers a glimpse into the many ways that global warming is affecting military readiness, underscoring the risks to national security if the government is not adequately prepared.

“It’s here today,” Richard Kidd, deputy assistant secretary of defense for environment and energy resilience, said of climate change during a news conference about the report, adding that it is “the context in which we now perform all of our functions.”

The report is the latest to identify links between climate change and threats to national security. The Department of Homeland Security has similarly warned that rise in sea levels and extreme weather events pose significant risks to the nation’s resilience. Last year, Air Force and Space Force officials released a climate action plan that outlined the need to adapt operations to changing climate conditions.