Michael Klare on the Pentagon's view of Climate Change and the Risks of State Collapse

Michael Klare, Five College Professor of Peace & World Security Studies, joins us to discuss the Pentagon's view of climate change, why it's distinctive, and how this all ultimately relates to the risks of great powers conflict and state collapse. Topics discussed in this episode include: -How the US military views and takes action on climate change -Examples of existing climate related difficulties and what they tell us about the future -Threat multiplication from climate change -The risks of climate change catalyzed nuclear war and major conflict -The melting of the Arctic and the geopolitical situation which arises from that -Messaging on climate change You can find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2021/07/30/michael-klare-on-the-pentagons-view-of-climate-change-and-the-risks-of-state-collapse/ Check out the video version of the episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn57jxEoW24 Check out Michael's website here: http://michaelklare.com/ Apply for the Podcast Producer position here: futureoflife.org/job-postings/ Have any feedback about the podcast? You can share your thoughts here: www.surveymonkey.com/r/DRBFZCT Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 2:28 How does the Pentagon view climate change and why are they interested in it? 5:30 What are the Pentagon's main priorities besides climate change? 8:31 What are the objectives of career officers at the Pentagon and how do they see climate change? 10:32 The relationship between Pentagon career officers and the Trump administration on climate change 15:47 How is the Pentagon's view of climate change unique and important? 19:54 How climate change exacerbates existing difficulties and the issue of threat multiplication 24:25 How will climate change increase the tensions between the nuclear weapons states of India, Pakistan, and China? 26:32 What happened to Tacloban City and how is it relevant? 32:27 Why does the US military provide global humanitarian assistance? 34:39 How has climate change impacted the conditions in Nigeria and how does this inform the Pentagon's perspective? 39:40 What is the ladder of escalation for climate change related issues? 46:54 What is "all hell breaking loose?" 48:26 What is the geopolitical situation arising from the melting of the Arctic? 52:48 Why does the Bering Strait matter for the Arctic? 54:23 The Arctic as a main source of conflict for the great powers in the coming years 58:01 Are there ongoing proposals for resolving territorial disputes in the Arctic? 1:01:40 Nuclear weapons risk and climate change 1:03:32 How does the Pentagon intend to address climate change? 1:06:20 Hardening US military bases and going green 1:11:50 How climate change will affect critical infrastructure 1:15:47 How do lethal autonomous weapons fit into the risks of escalation in a world stressed by climate change? 1:19:42 How does this all affect existential risk? 1:24:39 Are there timelines for when climate change induced stresses will occur? 1:27:03 Does tying existential risks to national security issues benefit awareness around existential risk? 1:30:18 Does relating climate change to migration issues help with climate messaging? 1:31:08 A summary of the Pentagon's interest, view, and action on climate change 1:33:00 Final words from Michael 1:34:33 Where to find more of Michael's work This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.