Military Readiness Lifted by Navy’s Climate Moves, Official Says

The Navy is paying so much attention to climate change because it sharpens the military’s ability to fight wars, one of its top officials says.

That framing could help blunt concerns from defense hawks that climate change shouldn’t be a central focus for the armed services.

“Climate readiness is mission readiness,” Meredith Berger, assistant secretary of the Navy for energy, installations, and environment, told reporters at a Tuesday briefing convened by George Washington University’s Project for Media and National Security. “This is about having the advantage when we are forward deployed.”

Not everyone shares that view. Last October, ...