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Daily Archives: October 21, 2021

Department of Defense Climate Risk Analysis October 2021

“Climate change is reshaping the geostrategic, operational, and tactical environments with significant implications for U.S. national security and defense. Increasing temperatures; changing precipitation patterns; and more frequent, intense, and unpredictable extreme weather conditions caused by climate change are exacerbating existing risks and creating new security challenges for U.S. interests. The risks of climate change to Department of Defense (DoD) strategies, plans, capabilities, missions, and equipment, as well as those of U.S. allies and partners, are growing. Global efforts to address climate change – including actions to address the causes as well as the effects – will influence DoD strategic interests, relationships, competition, and priorities. To train, fight, and win in this increasingly complex environment, DoD will consider the effects of climate change at every level of the DoD enterprise. The DoD Climate Risk Analysis (DCRA) responds to requirements specified in Executive Order (EO) 14008, “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.” The DCRA is organized as follows:• Section I introduces key security implications of climate change to DoD, including DoD’s role supporting whole-of-government and international efforts in concert with allies and partners.• Section II reviews DoD climate policy and responsibilities, highlighting key documents.• Section III presents a review of climate hazards, risks, and security implications. Sections on specific regions have been identified as Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and not releasable to the public. These sections were removed to allow this to be a publicly-releasable document.• Section IV outlines how DoD will incorporate consideration of climate into relevant strategy, planning, and processes.• Section V describes interagency scientific and intelligence products and experts, which could support future analyses of climate risk, as well as expected funding for exercises, wargames, analyses, and studies related to climate change. • Section VI concludes the DCRA.The DCRA is an important step towards integration of climate change considerations at DoD. To understand specific climate effects on plans, resourcing, operations, and missions, DoD Components will include climate considerations in relevant risk analyses, leveraging high-quality data, scenarios, and analytical tools tailored to DoD needs. Working within the whole-of-government, and in coordination with allies and partners, DoD will strive to prevent, mitigate, account for, and respond to defense and security risks associated with climate change…”

Financial Stability Oversight Council Identifies Climate Change as an Emerging and Increasing Threat to Financial Stability

Treasury Press Release: “The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) has released a new report in response to President Biden’s Executive Order 14030, Climate-related Financial Risk. For the first time, FSOC has identified climate change as an emerging and increasing threat to U.S. financial stability. The report and accompanying recommendations demonstrate FSOC’s commitment to building on… Continue Reading

Report – Plastics To Outpace Coal In Driving Climate Change

Beyond Plastics – Plastics are the New Coal: “Plastics are on track to contribute more climate change emissions than coal plants by 2030, a new report finds. As fossil fuel companies seek to recoup falling profits, they are increasing plastics production and cancelling out greenhouse gas reductions gained from the recent closures of 65 percent… Continue Reading

Review – ‘The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity’

The Atlantic – Human History Gets a Rewrite A brilliant new account upends bedrock assumptions about 30,000 years of change. By William Deresiewicz. “…The Dawn of Everything is written against the conventional account of human social history as first developed by Hobbes and Rousseau; elaborated by subsequent thinkers; popularized today by the likes of Jared… Continue Reading

Director of National Intelligence Inaugural Estimate on Climate Change

National Intelligence Estimate – Climate Change and International Responses Increasing Challenges to US National Security Through 2040. October 21, 2021. “We assess that climate change will increasingly exacerbate risks to US national security interests as the physical impacts increase and geopolitical tensions mount about how to respond to the challenge. Global momentum is growing for more… Continue Reading

Librarians to the Defense

The Progressive Magazine: “…Among other things, public libraries across the country serve as summer meal sites for hungry kids and many loan out films, music, and technical equipment in addition to books and periodicals. Computers and WiFi are available to those who lack access, whether to search for a job or to search for the… Continue Reading