The House Armed Services Committee found bipartisan support for a bill ordering the Department of Defense to prepare for the effects of climate change on extreme weather and world order.
Rhode Island Democrat Rep. Jim Langevin, ranking member on the Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee, introduced an amendment to the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) recognizing global climate change as a threat to national security. The provision requires the Secretary of Defense to prepare a report identifying the military stations most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, according to Langevin’s press release.
“The Department of Defense must ensure that it is prepared to conduct operations both today and in the future and that it is prepared to address the effects of a changing climate on threat assessments, resources, and readiness,” the bill states.
Langevin argued the military should prepare for disorder and terrorism caused by the changing climate.
“The changing global climate will lead to increased instability in the form of economic migration, increased competition over resources and possibly more failed states, which result in breeding grounds for extremism and terrorism,” Langevin said in committee, according to The Hill.
“I deeply appreciate the support of my colleagues in bringing a sober, fact-based approach to this critical issue of national security,” Langevin said in his press release.
Langevin’s “colleagues” included every congressman on the House Armed Services Committee but one.
Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming was the sole dissenter to Langevin’s amendment.
“We have heard testimony in front of this committee consistently about the array of imminent threats we face … the Russians, Chinese, ISIS, al Qaeda, Iran, North Korea. … There is simply no way that you can argue that climate change is one of those threats. Not even close,” Cheney said according to The Hill. “North Korea is not developing nuclear tipped ICBMs because the climate’s changing. ISIS and al Qaeda are not attacking the West because of the weather.”
Cheney blasted the basis for the amendment.
“There is no evidence that climate change causes war,” she said.
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