"The Senate also has yet to confirm a slew of the president’s top political appointees at the Defense Department, including officials who manage acquisition, personnel and readiness, and research and engineering. The tight deadline means that career officials are likely being asked to develop a plan that political appointees will need to implement once they’re confirmed, said John Conger, who oversaw environmental policy at the Defense Department during the Obama administration. “'There’s a degree of urgency coming from the White House: [...]

"The Senate also has yet to confirm a slew of the president’s top political appointees at the Defense Department, including officials who manage acquisition, personnel and readiness, and research and engineering. The tight deadline means that career officials are likely being asked to develop a plan that political appointees will need to implement once they’re confirmed, said John Conger, who oversaw environmental policy at the Defense Department during the Obama administration. "'There’s a degree of urgency coming from the White House: [...]

"That sort of thinking—'Rather than talking about how to protect the environment, but how to protect yourself from the environment,' as Conger puts it—helped to shift the military’s approach to climate change. 'When you start talking about … "How can I ensure I can do my mission?" the enthusiasm level is significant,' Conger says..." Read the full article here: Full Article

"The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, says the climate crisis will drive instability in some global regions. The Defense Department has several climate initiatives underway. John Conger, former principal deputy under secretary of defense (comptroller) and director of the Center for Climate and Security, said one should think of climate change as a factor that interacts with all other threats rather than a separate problem…" Watch the full interview here: Full Interview

"President Biden tells a story from early in his tenure as vice president when he and then-President Obama visited the Pentagon and met with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. During the meeting, Biden says, the Joint Chiefs told him that climate change was the greatest threat to American security. He invoked this story again during his recent European visit…" Read the full article here: Full Article

"Sometimes you want to hear from the very top, and sometimes you want to get into the details. In the last couple of weeks, the U.S. Congress has done both, and each one teaches us something important about the way the Department of Defense (DoD) is planning to deal with climate change early in this Administration…" Read the full article here: Full Article

"With the U.S. Department of Defense officially recognizing climate change as an 'existential threat,' adaptive changes to military bases with climate-related vulnerabilities will require location- and objective-based assessments, experts with The Center for Climate and Security (CCS), a nonpartisan institute, and the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), a nonprofit, told Newsweek. "'For them, it is a pragmatic, non-political issue,' CCS Director John Conger, a former comptroller and principal deputy under secretary of defense, told Newsweek. 'It is about protecting their ability [...]