ASP CEO BGen Stephen Cheney on WUNC
On Wednesday, June 26th, ASP Chief Executive Officer BGen Stephen Cheney appeared on WUNC in a conversation about a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. The report concluded that military bases are not sufficiently preparing for the effects of climate change, and that the Department of Defense has not created adequate projections for climate effects.
BGen Cheney said that the DoD needs an aggressive plan for shoring up bases that are at risk, particularly those grappling with sea level rise.
“It’s just going to happen anywhere there’s a coastline. Your coastline’s going to erode, you’re going to go under water, you’re going to have to find a way to get around it.”
The report said that planners on the bases need more direction from the Pentagon. Currently, the DoD does not provide up-to-date risk assessments or climate projections that are specific to installations. Cheney said that a large part of the problem was the Trump Administration’s downplaying of climate threats.
“It’s been difficult to get them to even admit that climate change is causing destruction of major bases and interrupting training worldwide.”
The DoD agreed with the findings in the GAO report, saying that it will provide better guidance on which sea level projections to use.
You can read the full conversation here.
