Climate Wire | The U.S. military has provided assistance to disaster victims for many years. However, there is little public information about when, where and how those deployments will take place.
The bipartisan Center for Climate Security is launching a new web-based data tool that allows internet users to track military deployments at home and abroad in response to hurricanes, floods, wildfires, heatwaves, and other climate-related disasters. trying to fill in the blanks. disaster.
According to the authors, the Military Response to Climate Change (MiRCH) Tracker will serve as a repository for such information, revealing how the military’s traditional combat missions are evolving in a warming climate. It is said that there is a possibility. This site provides up-to-date information on US and international deployments.
“In the conversations we have about climate change and national security, not just here in the United States, but looking to allies, partners, and even adversaries around the world, the military must respond to disasters. It’s important to truly understand what it means: the world,” Center Director Erin Sikorsky said in an interview.
The idea for the Military Disaster Response Tracker came from an informal Twitter conversation by experts who monitor disaster dispatches around the world.
“We needed a more formal tracking mechanism so we could compare. [deployments] over time. We wanted to improve data collection and present the data visually,” Sikorsky said in a telephone interview. This follow-up includes all military deployments, including support units from countries directly affected by the disaster and elsewhere.
While the tool is still in its early stages, it has already identified 84 global disasters that have required some form of military response since June 2022, including 18 in the United States. is
For example, the U.S. military responded to unprecedented flooding in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., caused by rain bombs in April, and thousands of people died from the 20,000-acre wildfires that raged in Mariposa County last July. was sent to evacuate Californians. In North Dakota, the National Guard is sent out almost every spring to help communities along the Red River, where warmer spring temperatures cause faster snowmelt and runoff.
According to the National Guard, many of its 450,000 members “will be involved in life-saving natural disaster response in 2022,” including 142,000 deployed in wildfire response, and another 18,000. He was sent to assist state and local officials during flood disasters. An additional 12,000 National Guard troops were deployed in response to the winter storms, the agency said.
Joe Bryan, the Pentagon’s Chief Sustainability Officer and senior adviser to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, said in a webinar hosted by the Brookings Institution last year that “climate change is affecting the Arctic from humanitarian aid and disaster relief. “Throughout the changes, we’re driving demand for missions.” . “
And, he said, “it also affects the readiness and ability of the military to respond to these crises. For example, if wildfires break out at a facility, the military must evacuate. We must invest in resources to mitigate these emerging risks.”
Sikorsky said the Pentagon’s growing role in climate disasters cannot be said to “undermine overall preparedness.”
But “they are concerned about where climate change is headed, especially in the next few decades,” she added.
This open-access tool is updated by government officials, researchers, journalists, and others who track the military response to climate disasters around the world. The center said it would ensure the information was accurate and up to date.
Reprinted from E&E News with permission of POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2023. E&E News provides important news for energy and environmental professionals.
