Rising Threat in the Homeland: Climate Change

In a new report by The American Security Project, authors Nick Cunningham and Danielle Parillo focus on the increasing threat that climate change poses to the United States and the world as a whole. "Protecting the Homeland: The Rising Costs of Inaction on Climate Change" argues that the United States needs to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions with haste. Moreover, the federal government should be prepared for the environmental and economic consequences of the climate change that has already occurred.

"Even if all carbon emissions could be eliminated immediately, we would continue to experience changes in the Earth’s climate over the next several decades. This is due to a lag effect – the climate will continue to change in the coming years because of emissions over previous decades." As a result, effects such as rising temperatures, extreme weather and more frequent natural disasters can be expected. "The alarming rate of natural disasters poses risks to infrastructure, military preparedness, and human life. The destruction of these events have also directly led to steadily increasing costs to U.S. taxpayers, as the federal government pays out record levels in disaster relief each year."

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