FY 2024 DoD Spending on Climate Change - $5.1 Billion

Image by U.S. Secretary of Defense

In March 2023, the DoD published “Enhancing Combat Capability – Mitigating Climate Risk.”

“Increasing temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and more frequent, intense, and extreme weather conditions are impacting military readiness and imposing significant costs on the Department while exacerbating risk and creating new challenges to U.S. interests around the world. To train, fight, and win in this increasingly complex environment, the Department must consider the effects of climate change across the enterprise and invest accordingly. The FY 2024 President’s budget request prioritizes Departmental investments that enhance operational capability, mission resilience, and readiness.

The Department is committed to solutions that are mission essential, such as increasing platform efficiencies to mitigate logistics risk in contested environments, hardening critical infrastructure, and deploying new technologies that strengthen capability. The budget request reflects that commitment and includes $5.1 billion in investments that will bolster U.S. security in the near-term and lay the groundwork for a more capable future force. Each Service and many Defense Agencies play an important role in achieving these goals, as shown in Table 1.

TABLE 1. Funding by Component FY 2024 $ (in thousands)

Department of Army   1,357,085

Department of Navy   1,476,838

Department of Air Force  942,322

Defense-Wide   1,355,366

Total     5,131,6111” (That’s $5.1 Billion)

The Pentagon highlighted the importance of climate change spending to winning World War III with China. “Dr. Ravi Chaudhary, former assistant secretary of the Air Force for energy, installations and environment, told CNN that climate programs are not just important to giving the US military an edge on adversaries like China, but they also help keep service members and their families safe. “Inaction at this point will put our readiness and the lives of our troops and their families at greater risk,” he said.”2

FY 2024 DoD Spending on DEI - $114 Million

“The FY 2024 President's Budget request demonstrates the DOD's commitment to DEIA and includes $114.7 million for dedicated diversity and inclusion activities," reads the department's Strategic Management Plan for fiscal year 2022 to 2026.

"This funding across the Military Departments, OSD Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute is investing in programs and initiatives aimed at furthering DEIA, and incorporating DEIA values, objectives, and considerations in how we do business and execute our missions."3

FY 2024 DoD Spending on Rare Earth Supply Chain - $139 Million

On September 20, 2024, the White House under President Biden published “Fact Sheet: Biden-Harris Administration Takes Further Action to Strengthen and Secure Critical Mineral Supply Chains.” The specific funding for rare earth supply chain issues follows:

“The Department of Defense has awarded $45 million to MP Materials for rare earth oxide processing at Mountain Pass, the only operating U.S. rare earth element mine, and more than $288 million to Lynas USA to establish commercial-scale rare earth oxide production.

Down the supply chain, the Department of Defense has invested more than $94 million in E-VAC Magnetics to establish a commercial-scale magnet manufacturing facility in South Carolina, as well as metals and alloys. E-VAC also disclosed that it was allocated $112 million through the Inflation Reduction Act 48C tax credit to support its manufacturing facility.”4

Rare earth materials are essential for defense systems. The list of weapon systems requiring rare earth materials is large and includes:

Precision guided munitions (surface to air, air to ground, air to air, air to ship, etc)

Lasers (rangefinders, target finders, target interrogators essential for ground, air, and ship weapons)

Radar

Air traffic control

Satellites

Computers

The Pentagon spends money on what it views as important to win wars. Apparently, ships, jets, planes, tanks, missiles, satellites, computers, radios, etc are not important in the Pentagon’s strategic planning in the 21st century.

  1. https://comptroller.defense.gov/Portals/45/Documents/defbudget/FY2024/PB_FY2024_ECC-Mitigating_Combat_Capability.pdf
  2. https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/09/politics/pentagon-climate-cuts-national-security/index.html
  3. https://www.newsweek.com/pentagon-plan-spend-hundred-million-diversity-training-sparks-fury-1845887
  4. https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/09/20/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-takes-further-action-to-strengthen-and-secure-critical-mineral-supply-chains/