Defense Officials Pushed Climate Plan Amid Afghan Pullout

As the Biden administration was overseeing the botched military withdrawal from Afghanistan, top Pentagon officials were scrambling to finalize the Department of Defense Climate Adaptation Plan (CAP), emails obtained by The Daily Wire show.

From the fall of Kabul to the Taliban on Aug. 15, 2021, to the final U.S. military flight out of Afghanistan on Aug. 30, Pentagon officials were working to get the Secretary of Defense to sign the major climate initiative, which identifies climate change as a major national security risk.

According to the Wire, the officials’ frustration at the difficulty in getting the plan signed is evident in the emails. Ultimately, however, their perseverance paid off: Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin signed the climate document on Sept. 1. Six days earlier, 13 Americans were killed by a suicide bomber during evacuation efforts at the airport in Kabul.

James Fitzpatrick, a U.S. Army Reserve member who obtained the emails through his group, the Center to Advance Security in America, said the emails show top military brass was “hounded” by climate activists within the government as they tried to manage the withdrawal of U.S. forces.

“While the Biden Administration was in the middle of a disastrous and deadly Afghanistan withdrawal, our top military leaders were being hounded by DoD [Department of Defense] climate activists to fast track a plan to transform the Department by forcing politically charged climate change discussions into every decision the DoD makes,” Fitzpatrick told the Wire.

Based on the emails, Joe Bryan, senior advisor to the secretary on climate, and Richard Kidd, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Environment & Energy Resilience, appear to be at the center of the push. The two men exchanged emails on the Climate Adaptation Plan throughout the Afghanistan debacle, calculating how to get Austin to sign it.

“I think it’s a tough lift to get [Secretary of Defense] to sign the CAP this week,” Bryan wrote on Aug. 17. “He’s not looking at much that isn’t Afghanistan-related.”

Bryan suggested involving White House official Andrew Mayock, who was Biden’s chief sustainability officer.

The next morning, Kidd responded that bringing Mayock on board was a “good idea,” because he “gets it” and could provide a “must have” deadline from the White House.

In the days that followed, the pair seem to have grown frustrated that Austin had not yet signed the climate plan.

On Aug. 30, the final day of the chaotic military pullout, Kidd expressed frustration after Bryan informed him the document “hasn’t been signed yet.”

“Uhm, ok will keep standing by,” Kidd replied.

He only had to wait two more days. On Sept. 1, Kidd was notified that the Climate Adaptation Plan had been signed by Austin and was ready to be sent to Mayock.

“Sir, The SECDEF has signed the CAP,” a member of Kidd’s staff wrote. “Congratulations!!!!!”

While the Pentagon confirmed to the Wire that Austin reviewed the climate plan during the withdrawal, it said his priority was Afghanistan.

“On any given day, the DoD and service members worldwide are focused concurrently on multiple lines of effort in support of national security, which is a testament to America’s Armed Forces and civilian workforce,” Pentagon press secretary Pat Ryder said in a statement. “When it comes to the Afghanistan withdrawal in 2021, Secretary Austin and DoD leaders absolutely prioritized providing leadership and support to U.S. forces and operations in Afghanistan, while also ensuring the other business of the Department of Defense remained on track.”