Border Wall Could Sap Military Funding for Climate Adaptation

Some of the money that President Trump will redirect toward a border wall could come from military efforts to strengthen defense facilities against the physical effects of climate change.

Trump’s emergency declaration Friday grants him the authority to shift billions of dollars toward a border wall with Mexico. About $3.6 billion will come from a military construction account that holds $10 billion for a diverse set of projects, including efforts to prepare installations for rising sea levels.

It will be difficult to ever determine exactly how much of the wall might be paid with money set aside for climate mitigation projects, according to experts. That’s because the Department of Defense has been incorporating climate risks into its construction decisions for years, and they’re not often identified explicitly.