Abstract: The most recent findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) state that the current trajectory of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will result in significant changes to the world climate and serious implications for the geopolitical landscape. These implications create both challenges and opportunities for the United States as they balance national security and economic interests. The effects of climate change could act as a threat multiplier in regions of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East already considered unstable. Conflicts could erupt as weak governments must combat flooding, droughts, and sea level rise and this may require increased U.S. military presence to maintain a stable world order. On the other hand there are various opportunities associated with climate change including opening arctic navigational channels and the vast oil and natural gas resources believed to be underneath the ice, the ability of the United States to provide constrained resources to drought areas, and the increased world demand for clean energy technology. The U.S. climate change policy must include adaption, mitigation, and prevention measures balancing these interests and this paper will explore those possibilities.
| Limitations: |
 APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE |
| Description: |
Strategy research project |
| Pages: |
36 |
| Report Date: |
20-Mar-2009 |
| Report Number: |
A587005 |
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