Markey: Pentagon Review Calls Climate Change, Energy Security, Economic Stability “Inextricably Linked"
Chairman Markey Requested Quadrennial Review in 2007
The Pentagon’s Quadrennial Defense Review released today points to serious global security concerns from our energy and climate change challenges. The four-year review was first requested by Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) in the Global Climate Change Security Oversight Act of 2007, which eventually became law through other legislation.
The report, a comprehensive look at America’s defense risks and opportunities, pays special attention to the challenges of climate change and dependence on fossil fuels like oil. The Pentagon links these global problems with America’s economy, saying “climate change, energy security and economic stability are inextricably linked.”
“The Pentagon gets it. The American people get it. We must move away from our dependence on foreign oil and towards American-made clean energy,” said Rep. Markey, chair of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. “The time has come to meet peacefully now in the halls of Congress to solve these problems, or America and her allies will surely be met with conflict in the future if they remain unaddressed.”
The report says that climate change could “have significant geopolitical impacts around the world, contributing to poverty, environmental degradation, and the further weakening of fragile governments.” Extreme weather events could strain military support, and changes in the climate will contribute to food and water scarcity and mass migrations, the Pentagon report says.
The solutions offered by the Pentagon are to move away from petroleum-based fuels and towards clean energy. Energy efficiency is called a “force multiplier, because it increases the range and endurance of forces in the field and can reduce the number of combat forces diverted to protect energy supply lines, which are vulnerable to both asymmetric and conventional attacks and disruptions.”
Legislation offered by Rep. Markey in 2007 asked for the Quadrennial Review to include findings estimate regarding the impact of global climate change and potential implications of such impact on America’s defense. The Department of Defense authorization bill that passed in 2007 included the requirement for this assessment.
The Select Committee was active during the 110th and 111th Congresses. This is an archived version of the website, to ensure that the public has ongoing access to the Select Committee record. This website, including external links, will not be updated after Jan. 3rd, 2010.
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