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Adapting to Climate Change, and More from CRS

02.27.15 | 2 min read | Text by Steven Aftergood

A new report from the Congressional Research Service describes government agency plans to anticipate and adapt to the effects of climate change, as required by a 2013 executive order.
 
The first step is a vulnerability assessment. For the Department of Defense, climate change may have “potential impacts on geopolitics and national security interests that could result in [new] military operations, risks to existing military infrastructure, and hindrances to readiness and the ability to execute missions.”
 
“Climate change could affect the type, scope, frequency, tactics, and location of military operations worldwide,” the CRS report said. Already, “The Air Force has found that the combination of thawing permafrost, decreasing sea ice, and rising sea levels on the Alaskan coast has increased coastal erosion at several Air Force radar early-warning and communication installations.”
 
The new CRS report surveys the range of agency responses to date. See Climate Change Adaptation by Federal Agencies: An Analysis of Plans and Issues for Congress, February 23, 2015.

Other new and updated CRS reports that Congress has withheld from online public distribution include the following.
 
The Obama Administration’s Proposed AUMF Against the Islamic State: Some Immediate Takeaways, CRS Legal Sidebar, February 19, 2015

Common Questions About Federal Records and Related Agency Requirements, February 2, 2015

China’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), January 30, 2015

International Law and Agreements: Their Effect Upon U.S. Law, February 18, 2015

Veto Override Procedure in the House and Senate, February 25, 2015

Anthem Data Breach: How Safe is Health Information Under HIPAA?, CRS Insights, February 24, 2015

Number of African American Judges Reaches All-Time High: Do Issues Remain?, CRS Insights, February 23, 2015

USCIS Funding and Accountability to Congress, CRS Insights, February 19, 2015

U.S. Citizens Kidnapped by the Islamic State, CRS Insights, February 13, 2015

and see, relatedly, How Much Are Americans Worth? By Aaron Gluck, International Affairs Review