The Climate Adaptation Plan lays out a bold vision for climate adaptation and climate change resiliency while also aligning with the Department’s warfighting mission.
The White House has unveiled the Department of Defense Climate Adaptation Plan (DOD CAP) as part of a broad government effort to address the increasing challenges posed by climate change. The DOD CAP collected 10 years of research and presents initiatives for the U.S. Armed Forces to combat the effects of climate change while retaining operational advantage under all conditions.
The report lays out how operations, planning activities, business processes, and resource allocation decisions will include climate change considerations. It states that no entity in the DOD can opt- out of these procedures because, as the report notes, no person or department has the luxury of “opting out” of the effects of climate change.
CAP consists of five steps. The first is to implement climate-informed decision-making using actionable science into all department processes. Every other action in this climate plan is dependent on the outcomes of this first step. Second, the DOD will train and equip a climate-ready force by focusing on training operations under the most extreme and adverse conditions. This includes integrating climate adaptation concepts into existing exercises and contingency planning. The third step is ensuring that all infrastructure is set up for successful mission preparedness, military readiness, and operational success in changing climate conditions. This includes gathering environmental data around built and natural infrastructure. Fourth, the DOD will insert climate change considerations into supply chain management to both reduce vulnerabilities and create opportunities to leverage the DOD’s purchasing power to advance key technologies that are essential to a clean energy transformation. The fifth and final step involves adaptation and community resiliency through collaboration with partner nations, other agencies, and non-government organizations.
“The DOD recognizes the value of interagency and intergovernmental cooperation in meeting the challenges of climate change,” the report states. “[This] reflects our commitment to working closely with other agencies, as well as our defense partners around the globe.”
To make climate-informed decisions, the DOD will rely on defense climate assessment tools like the Military Series of Micro Weather Station (MWS®), which is a military-grade, all-in-one environmental-monitoring tool that measures over a dozen weather parameters. Its wireless, autonomous, solar-powered operation ensures that service members can anticipate environmental conditions from even the world’s most remote locations. Hurricane preparedness is another pillar of the DOD’s climate plan, and the AWARE Flood System can withstand these intense storms while providing invaluable water-level data to first responders. Wildfire is another environmental hazard intensified by climate change. Intellisense has won contracts to deliver fire weather-sensing tools that can anticipate forest fires and other wildfire conditions. Solutions like these will build the DOD’s climate intelligence and maintain its combat advantages in any location and scenario.