A new report from the Pentagon says that climate change poses a threat to national security — multiplying risks from terrorism, infectious disease, and food and water shortages. The bottom line? There may be a greater need for military response to disasters, as the changing weather creates new catastrophes.
Even the Pentagon agrees: climate change is a ‘threat multiplier’
Climate change makes pretty much everything worse — including terrorist groups
Climate change makes pretty much everything worse — including terrorist groups
is a reporter who writes about tech, money, and human behavior. She joined The Verge in 2014 as science editor. Previously, she was a reporter at Bloomberg.
The Pentagon isn’t the only one that’s concerned. Earlier this month, the British Medical Journal called on the World Health Organization to declare a public health emergency, based on a projected 250,000 additional deaths from 2030 and 2050. Today’s report from the Pentagon suggests ways for the military to respond to rising sea levels, as well as extreme weather such as violent storms or droughts. There are no specific budget recommendations in it, however.
Climate change may cause large-scale migrations of people away from areas affected by drought or heavy weather. That could give rise to more terrorist threats, Marcus King, an expert on climate change at George Washington University, told The New York Times. He suggested that climate change may have played a role in the rise of the Islamic State.
"Climate change and water shortages may have triggered the drought that caused farmers to relocate to Syrian cities and triggered situations where youth were more susceptible to joining extremist groups," King tells The New York Times. By seizing scarce water resources, the Islamic State has expanded its power, he said.
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