President Obama: Climate Change a National Security Risk

Climate Change a National Security Risk

Posted on Feb 25, 2015 in Sustainable Living & Sustainable Lifestyle by Matthew Speer 0 Comments

President Barack Obama’s new national security strategy adds climate change – and the potential for conflicts over “basic resources like food and water” – to the list of top risks to the nation’s security.

The list includes eight top strategic risks, including a “catastrophic” attack on the United States, threats against citizens abroad and the risk of nuclear weapons getting into the hands of the country’s enemies.

In the strategy report, Obama Administration officials said the U.S. will meet the challenges of environmental issues through “national emissions reductions, international diplomacy, and our commitment to the Green Climate Fund.”

Obama Seeks Global Consensus on Environment

In his remarks that accompanied release of the strategy, President Obama placed addressing climate change in the context of the administration’s overall approach to “energy security.” “We are building on our own energy security—and the ground-breaking commitment we made with China to reduce greenhouse gas emissions—to cement an international consensus on arresting climate change,” the president said.

The president also notes that most of these initiatives are ongoing and will not be completed during his presidency. He also wrote that accomplishing all of his national strategy goals will require a return to the type of bipartisan agreement on foreign policy that has not been much in evidence in Washington in recent years.

The Fight Against Climate Change

The 2015 National Strategy report states that climate change has led to issues such as an increased amount of refugees fleeing areas where environmental issues have led to reduction in safe natural resources.

The document notes several ways the United States is leading the charge on fighting climate change.

The U.S. has reduced carbon emissions by a larger percentage than any other country in the last six years.
If followed in the coming years, the administration’s climate plan will reduce emissions to 2005 levels by 2025.
The federal government is working with utilities to cut the amount of carbon pollution from power plants.
The administration is working on a new global climate change agreement that will set standards for prevention of climate change.
The U.S. will continue to contribute to the Green Climate Fund, which helps countries invest in clean energy technology.
The administration is working with African entrepreneurs to develop clean energy project.

Whatever the outcome of these initiatives, President Obama, during his two terms in office, has pushed fighting climate to the forefront of the nation’s agenda and also placed the United States in a leadership position to fight climate change around the world.