In a Foreign Policy Debate, Attention Should be Given to Climate Change

Tonight is the third and final presidential debate, and it
will focus exclusively on foreign policy. Viewers can expect to see significant
attention given to Afghanistan, China, Iran and Libya. CNAS published a “National Security Guide to the
2012 Presidential Election” earlier this month that lays out some of the key
decision points on a range of issues, such as the defense budget, cyber
security and Afghanistan.

One issue that has received very little attention in the debates
so far is climate change, which is disappointing when one considers that some
of the most important decisions regarding U.S. policy on climate change will need
to be made in the next administration in order to avoid potential climate
tipping points that scientists say could “lead to increasingly rapid and
irreversible destruction of the global environment.” Indeed, the
International Energy Agency has already warned that – even with the recent global recession
– global
carbon emissions continue to rise, pushing the world closer to irreversible
damage to the environment. The IEA added last year that unless serious efforts
are taken in the next five years to curb global greenhouse gas emissions the
world may be unable to avoid “dangerous
climate change” and its attendant consequences, including more frequent and severe drought like the kind witnessed today in the American midwest.  

But policymakers don’t need to wait five years or more to
see how climate change may take its toll on U.S. security and foreign policy
interests. One need only look to the Arctic – which recorded record low sea ice
this summer – to see where climate change is already complicating U.S. foreign
policy. The opening of the Arctic is placing increased pressure on U.S.
policymakers to assess U.S. interests in the region and to navigate potential
international challenges that could manifest from increased activity in the
High North.

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