Two years ago at the Climate Leaders Summit hosted by President Joseph R Biden Jr. Under the chair, Emeritus Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III has committed to produce tailored versions of the DOD Climate Assessment Tool (DCAT) for six allies: Australia, Germany, Italy, Japan, and South Korea. Kingdom and United Kingdom.
Over the past few months, department staff has been involved in the development of tools and data identification on climate change with these allies, and today, the United States has delivered on that climate commitment. Sharing a customized version of DCAT with allies enhances their climate resilience, promotes security cooperation and interoperability, and strengthens the national security of the United States.
Today, the Pentagon hosted the Climate Assessment Instrument Ceremonies event with embassy staff from allied countries. The Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Environmental and Energy Resilience and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Arctic and Global Resilience jointly hosted this solemn event. to mark the successful development of these tools.
The Department understands that the impacts of climate change are real, happening today and must be included in defense planning. Climate change will continue to amplify operational demands on the force and its allies, degrade infrastructure and infrastructure, increase health risks to service members, and require repair. change existing and planned military capabilities. Extreme weather events have cost the department billions of dollars and are degrading mission capability and readiness. Countries and alliances that are more resilient to climate impacts will have a competitive advantage. The Department is committed to working closely with allies and partners to strengthen our collective resilience and adapt to the challenges posed by climate change.
The Department must take bold steps to accelerate adaptation to reduce the adverse effects of climate change. Adapting to climate change will lead to a more agile military, strengthened alliances, resilient infrastructure, and increased opportunities for technical innovation and economic growth. The department’s climate resilience measures begin with analysis from DCAT. DCAT is the department’s climate assessment tool that leverages available and available best practices and data. Assessment of long-term exposure through tools such as DCAT is essential to understanding climate risks and vulnerabilities.
In addition to DOD sharing a version of DCAT with a number of allies, the department also continues to fund ongoing research to improve DCAT for use in long-term military investments and other planning scenarios. of DOD through 2050 and 2085. At the installation level, the improved capabilities in DCAT will allow for easier integration with military department-specific layers of geographic information systems (e.g. flood) flood) to analyze the exposure or susceptibility of the installation to climate and extreme weather events. This will help inform land use recommendations and support resilient design, engineering and construction.
For military components, DCAT identifies installations or facilities that require more focused attention or research to determine mission impacts and exposure risk reduction strategies . Similarly, DOD leadership can use DCAT to inform investments, policy decisions, and requests from Congress by comparing climate exposure across the board.
Climate change has no borders. No country can find lasting security without addressing growing climate hazards. The Department appreciates the cooperation on climate security with our allies, and in addition to sharing climate assessment tools, the DOD looks forward to further expanding defense partnerships in the field. of mutual interest and national security.
For more information about DCAT and the Department’s climate efforts, visit DOD Tackling the Climate Spotlight.
