For most Americans, climate change has long been a distant consideration — the theories of scientists and partisan politicians. Yet just as the bombing of Pearl Harbor shattered the fiction of America’s immunity to war, so too has the summer of 2020 brought home the reality that climate change is endangering lives, property, and infrastructure not just abroad, but right here at home.
Ultimately, our ability to supply essential services to our citizens is becoming so endangered, that the changing climate itself is presenting dire threats to our national security. In the face of rising threats, building resilience into our infrastructure and better encouraging private capital flows in support of government efforts has become a global priority.
The daily headlines remind us that the frequency, scale, and severity of hurricanes, floods, wildfires, droughts, rising sea levels, and extreme weather events are accelerating at an unprecedented pace. The rising emissions fomenting these accelerating catastrophes point to the need for communities to mobilize before disasters strike. Climate resilience — the ability to prepare for, recover from, and adapt to a changing climate — is now on an urgency par with mitigation.
Read the full article in The Hill.
