US military bracing for warmed-up world, says defence chief Chuck Hagel
Defence chief Chuck Hagel says US military accepts global warming as a reality, and will plan acquisitions and operations around it
Global warming is changing the way the US trains for and goes to war - affecting conflicts, weapons systems, training exercises and military installations, the Pentagon said.
Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel told a high-level meeting of military leaders that the Pentagon was undertaking sweeping changes to systems and installations to keep up with a growing threat of rising seas, droughts, and natural disasters caused by climate change.
"Climate change is a long-term trend, but with wise planning and risk mitigation now, we can reduce adverse impacts down range," Hagel said.
"A changing climate will have real impacts on our military and the way it executes its missions," Hagel wrote in a Pentagon report out today. "We are considering the impacts of climate change in our war games and defence planning scenarios."
The Pentagon's strategic planners have for years viewed climate change as a "threat multiplier" - worsening old conflicts and potentially provoking new clashes over migration and shortages of food and water in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, and opening up new military challenges in a melting Arctic.
