The Department of the Interior hosts an interagency meeting on using science to guide climate security policy

Date: Friday, September 29, 2023
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WashingtonThis week, the Department of the Interior led an interagency meeting focused on using science and data to combat the impacts of the climate crisis around the world.

On Thursday, 52 representatives from 19 federal agencies attended the security policy meeting, which was co-chaired by the Department of the Interior, the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, and the National Security Council. The meeting identified ways to leverage existing scientific capabilities within agencies to guide climate security policy-making as part of the Biden-Harris administration’s policy. Historical steps To promote the use of science and data to guide policy making.

“Our local scientific agencies are leading the world in providing the ideas needed to address the climate crisis both at home and abroad,” he said. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Dr. Annalize Bloom. “Demonstrating the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to advancing evidence-based policy, this meeting provided a critical forum for our science and national security agencies to identify ways to further leverage our scientific capabilities to address the security impacts of climate change.”

The meeting not only highlighted the critical role the Interior Department plays in providing science to address the climate crisis domestically, but also highlighted the ways our science supports interagency partners focused on the security impacts of the climate crisis around the world.

This meeting came as Secretary Deb Haaland delivered his remarks at the White House Climate Resilience Summit, coinciding with the launch of the National Climate Resilience Framework. This week, the Department of the Interior released four updated Departmental Guide policies to strengthen the agency’s ability to meet its mission in the face of a changing climate. In service of this effort, scientific agencies within the Department, including the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), use the best available science to provide in-depth, long-term perspectives on landscape, environmental, and ecological change. Long-term data sets from the USGS help decision makers understand how Earth’s changing climate is factored into important decisions and activities.

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