The Pentagon has reportedly said that global warming is changing the way United States trains for and goes to war.
In an attempt to step-up efforts to tackle global warming, Pentagon is set to undertake a slew of measures that will affect war games, weapons systems, training exercises and military installations. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is expected to introduce these steps aimed at curbing the threat of rising seas, droughts, and natural disasters caused by climate change at a high-level meeting of military leaders on Monday, reported The Guardian.
Hagel wrote in a report released by Pentagon yesterday that the U.S. is considering the impacts of climate change in war games and defence planning scenarios.
The Pentagon has for years looked at climate change as a "threat multiplier," one that has worsened old conflicts and provoked new conflicts over migration and shortages of food and water in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. It has also opened up new military challenges in a melting Arctic.
However, Monday's report has moved climate change from being a potential threat to an immediate factor in a wide range of operational and budgeting decisions.
The report that was released at a meeting of more than 30 defence ministers from the U.S. and Europe also indicated America's intention to take a leading role at international climate negotiations in Lima in December.