Gregory Pollock, principal director for Arctic and global resilience at the Department of Defense, said DOD is considering climate change through war games and scenario planning and is working with U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Southern Command to address climate challenges, DOD News reported Monday.
“[It’s] really who adapts to this changing environment best that’s going to win in strategic competition, but we need to get ourselves organized to think about what the commodities of real significance [are, and their] real relevance for the future,” Pollock said Thursday during a virtual panel.
Pollock discussed DOD’s efforts to include climate change considerations in the budget, National Defense Strategy and other strategic documents.
“This is a real recognition on behalf of the department of the ways in which climate change is fundamentally altering the strategic context in which the joint force operates,” Pollock said.
“And we must adapt to those changing circumstances and adapt better and faster than do our competitors,” he added.
Joseph Bryan, senior adviser for climate and chief sustainability officer, also joined Pollock during the panel discussion and talked about how climate change shapes DOD’s capability and relationship with allies and competitors.