Introduction
The climate is drastically changing. Global tem-
peratures are increasing, storms are becoming more
numerous and severe, and ocean levels are rising. The
consequences of these changes include food shortages,
fresh water scarcity, destruction of homes and a loss
of life and livelihood on a previously unseen scale.
The resulting social and economic unrest caused by
these changes will exceed most governments’ capaci-
ties to cope with the crises. This will be the spark that
ignites tomorrow’s regional conflicts and creates the
humanitarian disasters to which the U.S. military will
most certainly be drawn.
To avoid overextending the capabilities of tomor-
row’s military, the United States must make its al-
lies and partners resilient: more adaptable to climate
change and more capable of dealing with disaster
response and prevention. Building resiliency into
the Nation’s National Military Strategy (NMS) will
require a cultural shift from within, expanded part-
nerships with academics and scientists conducting
climate change research, and reformed Security Sec-
tor Assistance. A failure to act now will only increase
the inevitable military resource drain in response to
tomorrow’s humanitarian crises.
Today’s Reality
Rising demand for resources, rapid urbanization of
littoral regions, the effects of climate change, the emer-
gence of new strains of disease, and profound cultural
and demographic tensions in several regions are just
some of the trends whose complex interplay may
spark or exacerbate future conflicts.
—The Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), 2010