December 12, 2024

Warren, Escobar Reintroduce Legislation to Strengthen Military Readiness, Adapt to Climate Change

The Defense Department is the largest consumer of fossil fuels on the planet

Bill Text (PDF) | Bill Section-by-Section (PDF)

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Representative Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, reintroduced the Department of Defense (DOD) Climate Resilience and Readiness Act to address the Pentagon’s contributions to climate change and to mitigate climate change’s impact on our military readiness. 

The Department of Defense has long recognized that climate change threatens the nation’s military readiness and coastal infrastructure. Multiple military leaders have testified before Congress to confirm the threat that climate change poses to our national security and strategic interests, as well as confirmed the need to address climate change. To adequately address these risks, serious changes will be required of the Pentagon’s operations and carbon emissions.

The Department of Defense Climate Resiliency and Readiness Act would require the DoD to take specific actions to adapt to climate change and improve energy efficiency:

  • Commits the U.S. military to net zero energy in non-operational sources, producing as much renewable energy as total energy consumed, by 2034. 
  • Produce a list of military installations that emit the most carbon and an estimate of total energy consumption.
  • Consider the effects of climate change and contractors' energy efficiency performance when considering entering into any contract and give preference to contractors that verifiably use green manufacturing technology.
  • Provide an annual report of the effects of climate change on military readiness, with an estimate of the financial costs of damage to bases and other infrastructure resulting from climate change-related events over the preceding year.
  • Incorporate climate resilience into existing operational strategies. 
  • Invest in a new, ten-year research, development, and demonstration program on energy storage, hybrid microgrid, and energy resiliency.
  • Consider current and potential vulnerabilities of military installations to climate change in any future process of base realignment and closure (BRAC).

“Our military readiness and national security depend on how we adapt to climate change,” said Senator Warren. “This bill will update our military’s infrastructure and operations with the urgency needed to protect against the worst effects of climate change.” 

Senator Warren and Representative Escobar initially introduced this bill in May 2019 and again in July 2021. 

Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) co-sponsored the bill. In the House, Representatives John Garamendi (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Military Readiness, along with Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) and Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii), both members of the House Armed Services Committee, were original co-sponsors. 

The DoD Climate Resilience and Readiness Act has been endorsed by Sierra Club, League of Conservation Voters, Public Citizen, and Earthjustice.

Senator Warren has been a leading voice on the Senate Armed Services Committee calling for actions to combat climate change: 

  • In April 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren, along with Representatives Sean Casten (D-Ill.) and Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) urged the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council, composed of the Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), urging them to finalize the Federal Supplier Climate Risks and Resilience Rule as quickly as possible.
  • In December 2021, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) urged the Department of Defense to take proactive steps to ensure the strength and readiness of DoD assets and installations in the face of the climate crisis. 
  • In April 2019, Senator Warren wrote to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, following up on concerns brought forth by eight military leaders about the rising threat of climate change to the United States military's missions, operational plans, installations, and overall readiness.
  • In April 2019, Senator Warren and Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Jack Reed wrote to the Government Accountability Office calling for a review of potential threats to national security resulting from the impacts of climate change on defense contractors and the defense supply chain, and to review the extent to which the Department of Defense can address climate change and other environmental risks during the contracting process.

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