Navy conducts climate change drills with Caribbean partners > U.S. Department of Defense > Department of Defense News

The Navy has conducted a simulation exercise with partner nations in the Caribbean to explore opportunities to improve climate preparedness and resilience throughout the region.

The two-day event in San Juan, Puerto Rico, was the third in a series of exercises held in recent years to validate the Navy’s Climate Action 2030 strategy.

Participants covered a variety of scenarios reflecting the real-world impacts of climate change on the region, ranging from drought-induced wildfires to high temperatures putting strains on power grids and crops to damage to critical infrastructure from more frequent and intense hurricanes.

Vaughn Miller, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources of the Bahamas, said the exercise highlighted the far-reaching impacts of climate change in the region and further underscored the importance of regional partnerships in addressing this threat.

“The Bahamas faces multiple challenges in the face of climate change, and over the past few days we have been exploring opportunities to work with the United States and our regional partners,” Miller said.

He also pointed to a number of new climate-related threats that are transforming the Bahamas and neighboring countries, including wildfires due to prolonged droughts and significant damage to coral reefs, which are the first line of defense against storm surges.

Miller said the region must adapt to the new reality and prevent further damage.

“The United States is a strategic partner for us in security issues and in times of disaster, and we look forward to opportunities to expand our engagement.”

The Navy-led event was attended by interagency climate and regional experts, including the U.S. Agency for International Development, Department of State, Department of Energy, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Meredith Berger, assistant secretary of the Navy for energy, facilities and environment and the Navy’s chief sustainability officer, said participants focused particularly on the importance of integrating local knowledge and establishing ongoing communication among key stakeholders.

“The impacts of climate change – from rising temperatures and droughts to changing precipitation patterns and rising sea levels – are affecting our military, our communities and our economies,” Berger said.

“Island and coastal states like our Caribbean neighbors are at the forefront of this challenge, and we know we do better when we work together,” she said. “We have much to learn from each other and even more to gain when we work together to build our shared climate resilience and enhance our shared security.”

Senior leaders across the Navy have recognized that action is needed in the face of climate change.

In his foreword to the U.S. Navy’s climate strategy, to be released in 2022, Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said climate change is “one of the most destabilizing forces of our time, exacerbating other national security concerns and posing serious challenges to operational readiness.”

“Our naval forces, the United States Navy and Marine Corps, are in the crosshairs of the climate crisis: the threat increases instability and demands on our forces while simultaneously compromising our ability to respond to those demands,” Del Toro said.

The Navy held its first climate change tabletop exercise in May 2022 at the Marine Barracks in Washington, DC. The inaugural exercise brought together a variety of partners to discuss issues related to the Navy’s response to climate change, including logistics, authorities and funding.

The next round took place the following year at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, where the Navy worked in collaboration with Stanford University’s Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability on issues related to water security, energy security and coastal resilience.