Senior retired Military officers from the American Security Project visit Chicago to discuss the far-reaching effects of climate change.
On Thursday, July 9, two senior retired U.S. military officers Vice Admiral Lee Gunn, USN (Ret). and Brigadier General Stephen Cheney, USMC (Ret.) will speak about the national security importance of climate change. As members of the American Security Project (ASP), a non-partisan national security think tank, they will talk about the importance of action on climate change at an event held at Chicago’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial. They will be accompanied by a group of younger veterans from all services. ASP’s Senior Fellow, Andrew Holland, who worked for then-Senator Chuck Hagel on this issue, will also attend as a part of ASP’s nationwide tour highlighting the impacts of climate change on national security.
Climate Change affects our national security three ways:
- it creates global instability, that the United States will need to respond to
- it threatens our homeland security, through extreme weather
- it will cost our military, and so every taxpayer, vast amounts of money to rebuild military bases due to extreme weather, rise in sea levels, and global instability
BGen Stephen Cheney, USMC (Ret.) stated:
“Climate change is real and a clear threat to global stability and security around the world. We know that our military is preparing for it.”
Vice Admiral Lee Gunn stated:
“Climate Change poses a clear and present danger to the United States of America. National security, linked to energy security and economic growth, which undergird all of our nation’s power, can be achieved by taking action now to avert the worst consequences of climate change. The imperative, then, is for leadership and action on a global scale. The United States must act. The United States must lead.”
Climate change alone will not cause wars, but it serves as an “Accelerant of Instability” or a “Threat Multiplier” that makes already existing threats worse. Resource scarcity, extreme weather, food scarcity, water insecurity, and sea level rise will all threaten societies around the world. Too many governments are not prepared for these threats, either because they do not have the resources or because they have not planned ahead. How those societies respond to the increase in instability will determine whether climate change will lead to war.
American Security Project’s Climate Security Report discusses the strategic security imperative of climate change to the United States and the necessity to prepare for the changes that lie ahead.
Additional Resources and Publication
The Global Security Defense Index on Climate Change
Climate Change and U.S. Military Basing
Climate Change and Global Security
Climate Change and the Homeland
