Pentagon report weighs the climate change threat

Rising global temperatures pose pressing challenges for the Defense Department and a new climate planning cell is needed to better monitor climate threats, according to a major new study by the Pentagon’s Defense Science Board. “Climate change acts as a ‘threat multiplier,’ amplifying existing vulnerabilities, enhancing regional instability, and generally fostering conditions conducive to conflict,” the report states. Such international stresses could affect how the Pentagon maintains deterrence and prepares for potential future conflict, the report states. The 132-page report, “Climate Change and Global Security,” includes a warning that its...