Hill Heat

Markey’s Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming and a House Intelligence Subcommittee will hold a joint hearing Wednesday on the national security threats of climate change.

International experts have sounded alarms recently about the potential for global political instability caused by rifts over resources, extreme weather events and tensions caused by waves of mass-migration.

A series of recent international reports have brought attention to the issue, including an April report from the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies.

The report noted that climate change has already spurred some conflicts: Rising sea levels and melting Arctic ice caps have led to territory disputes among major powers; and global warming has exacerbated conflicts in unstable regions – especially Africa – where drought, famine, flood, migration and extreme weather events have overwhelmed fragile political systems.

Nick Mabey, author of the report, also offered a grim outlook of other potential effects: Collapsing fisheries stocks could destroy the livelihoods of millions; the potential for armed conflict could increase as tensions rise over water rights; and global resentment could rise against the industrialized nations that failed to drastically reduce their emissions or adequately help the victims of global warming.

“Despite these threats, current responses to climate change are slow and inadequate,” Mabey wrote. He added that “a failure to acknowledge and prepare for the worst-case scenario is as dangerous in the case of climate change as it is for managing the risks of terrorism or nuclear weapons proliferation.”