Pentagon Tells the President: Climate Change Needs To Be Top National Security Priority

Pentagon Tells President: Climate Change Will Destroy Us

The report - titled An Abrupt Climate Change Scenario and Its Implications for United States National Security [secretly published in October 2003 - publicly available from link below] - begins, "there is substantial evidence to indicate that significant global warming will occur during the 21sth century." Without mincing words, or overstating the case, it calls climate change a "U.S. national security concern" and warns the Defense Department against going forward without being prepared for severe climate consequences that could alter the political and economic states of nations across the globe, destabilizing regions and provoking conflict.

Climate change over the next 20 years could result in a global catastrophe costing millions of lives in wars and natural disasters.

[The] secret report, suppressed by US defence chiefs...warns that major European cities will be sunk beneath rising seas as Britain is plunged into a 'Siberian' climate by 2020. Nuclear conflict, mega-droughts, famine and widespread rioting will erupt across the world.

The document predicts that abrupt climate change could bring the planet to the edge of anarchy as countries develop a nuclear threat to defend and secure dwindling food, water and energy supplies. The threat to global stability vastly eclipses that of terrorism, say the few experts privy to its contents.

'Disruption and conflict will be endemic features of life,' concludes the Pentagon analysis. 'Once again, warfare would define human life.'

...Climate change 'should be elevated beyond a scientific debate to a US national security concern', say the authors, Peter Schwartz, CIA consultant and former head of planning at Royal Dutch/Shell Group, and Doug Randall of the California-based Global Business Network.

An imminent scenario of catastrophic climate change is 'plausible and would challenge United States national security in ways that should be considered immediately', they conclude. As early as next year widespread flooding by a rise in sea levels will create major upheaval for millions.


Now the Pentagon Tells Bush: Climate Change Will Destroy Us
February 22, 2004
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2004/feb/22/usnews.theobserver

New Report on Climate Change: Be Prepared
Updated: February 26, 2007
http://www.edf.org/article.cfm?contentID=3567


for complete Pentagon Report:

An Abrupt Climate Change Scenario and Its Implications for United States National Security
http://www.environmentaldefense.org/documents/3566_AbruptClimateChange.pdf