Global climate change and U.S. military readiness

Abstract

AbstractTo address the threats posed by global climate change, the United States and most of the other countries of the world met in Kyoto, Japan, in December 1997 and drafted a new international agreement: The Kyoto Protocol to the Convention on Climate Change. The Protocol has been hailed as an important step forward in combating global climate change and denounced as unnecessary and unfair to American business. Likewise, the Protocol's impacts on national security and military readiness have been subject to controversy.While the connection between U.S. military readiness and the Kyoto Protocol may not be readily apparent at first, the issue was the subject of Congressional hearings and debate during the spring and summer of 1998 and resulted in a somewhat unusual legislative provision in the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999. The provision aims to protect military operations and training from negative impact associated with implementing the Kyoto Protocol. Section 1232 of the Act states:Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no provision of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or any regulation issued pursuant to such protocol, shall restrict the training or operations of the United States Armed Forces or limit the military equipment procured by the United States Armed Forces.This article reviews the history behind this provision and discusses how climate change issues impact the Department of Defense (DOD).