NATO joins the Pentagon in deeming climate change a threat multiplier – Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Article Synopsis – A new NATO special report concludes that climate change is the ultimate “threat multiplier”—meaning that it can exacerbate political instability in the world’s most unstable regions. Extreme weather events increase with climate change, stressing food and water supplies, and can lead to disputes and violent conflicts. These are worries also identified by US intelligence and military experts and will have to be factored into any assessments of national security priorities and actions for the future. Human civilization only developed over the past 10,000 years, during which time the Earth’s climate entered a relatively stable period. This stability allowed humans to settle in areas where we could rely on relatively consistent weather patterns, and develop agricultural production based on stable weather and climate. But we’re now raising Earth’s temperature at a rate 20 to 50 times faster than normally happens when it transitions out of an ice age. This rapid climate destabilization threatens the foundations of human society. To read the actual article click here.