A report scheduled for today will outline how the U.S. Defense Department should deal with the challenges of climate change and how rising sea levels, severe weather and other factors will affect the military.
As climate patterns change, rising sea levels may submerge military infrastructure in Virginia, Hawaii and other locations, while more natural disasters will mean a spike in demand for humanitarian support, according to the Associated Press.
"If you take just the one element of climate change, potential threats as sea levels rise; the coasts of countries, islands, present obvious security challenges for stability, security, national defense institutions," said Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel this past weekend, as quoted by the AP. "When there is any natural disaster event that occurs, there always is some element of a security risk; law and order, individuals attempting to take advantage of those catastrophes, adjusting to shifts in security requirements."
The meeting in Peru will be attended by at least 30 defense ministers from the Americas and some European nations. Concurrent with Hagel's remarks, the Pentagon will unveil a plan with new strategies to respond to climate change both in the U.S. and around the world, the Los Angeles Times reported.
One area of concern is the Arctic Sea, which has been thawing enough to open up trade lanes that were formerly frozen over. Melting ice caps will fuel competition for oil and gas deposits as well as provide more passage for military.
"We see an Arctic that is melting, meaning that most likely a new sea lane will emerge," said Hagel, as quoted by the AP. "We know that there are significant minerals and natural deposits of oil and natural gas there. That means that nations will compete for those natural resources. That's never been an issue before. You couldn't get up there and get anything out of there. We have to manage through what those conditions and new realities are going to bring in the way of potential threats."
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