Ä¢¹½´«Ã½

This report, the second in the Center for Climate and Security’s Japan Series, provides examples of how the US military has dealt with key climate-related challenges, along with the wider potential of climate change impacts to exacerbate instability. The authors argue that the kind of planning the US military has done to assess and address climate change risks could inform Japanese industry, boosting their existing climate risk management approaches, and preserving their competitive advantage in the medium-term.

The report also explores similarities in the US military’s exposure to the security risks of climate change, and that of major Japanese companies that operate internationally. The report not only examines the near-term and direct climate change impacts but also some of the higher-order impacts and repercussions of these changes, such as impacts on political stability. 

Three key recommendations emerge:

• Acknowledge the risks
• Plan and resource to manage climate risk
• Energy efficiency and renewable energy can save costs, contribute to risk reduction and yield reputational dividends.

Ultimately, the first and most fundamental lesson from the US military’s experience with climate change is that it is in an organization’s own interest to address the risks posed by climate change. Given the extreme vulnerability to climate impacts in the Asia-Pacific and the growing economy of the region, it makes sense to take a long-term view of climate hazards.