On September 21, 2016, President Obama issued a Memorandum titled Climate Change and National Security. The purpose of the Memorandum is to "ensure that climate change-related impacts are fully considered in the development of national security doctrine, policies, and plans." The Memorandum establishes the Climate and National Security Working Group, to be made up of representatives from various federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Council on Environmental Quality, and the Department of Energy. The Working Group will ultimately develop recommendations for agencies such as the Departments of State, Defense, and Homeland Security.
Presidential Memoranda are akin to Executive Orders, and they have similar legal significance. This Memorandum will remain in effect unless revoked by the next administration. In fact, one of the deadlines established by the Memorandum, by which certain agencies must develop an implementation plan, is not until February 2017. This Memorandum is just one of many examples of the President's focus on climate change issues, and it follows Executive Order 13653 (directing federal agencies to incorporate climate-resilience considerations into operations), Executive Order 13677 (setting requirements for integrating climate-resilience considerations into international development work), and Executive Order 13693 (requiring federal agencies to improve environmental performance and sustainability).
The Memorandum has faced some resistance. For example, on September 26, 2016, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology sent a letter to the White House, requesting a briefing on the Memorandum and stating that "it is necessary for us to better understand the science that underpins the studies, climate models, reports, and conclusions that the Administration will use as the basis of its analysis and national security policy development."
Additional information about how this Memorandum may affect the regulated community will likely be available before the end of the year, when the Working Group will issue its Action Plan, outlining specific objectives, milestones, and timelines for carrying out the policies identified in the Memorandum.
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