diff --git a/util/env_posix.cc b/util/env_posix.cc
index a12709a2d55b923bc80b4cf36b34c3f39b765961..30e05d3253f5386e42e1f6a6e92e3da06f693197 100644
--- a/util/env_posix.cc
+++ b/util/env_posix.cc
@@ -1078,9 +1078,8 @@ void PosixEnv::StartThread(void (*function)(void* arg), void* arg) {
 
 }  // namespace
 
-static PosixEnv default_env;
-
 Env* Env::Default() {
+  static PosixEnv default_env;
   return &default_env;
 }