Pres. Obam announced Wednesday that climate change is a larger threat than perceived before, so much so that it has become a national security threat.
Listed are five quotes from President Obama and officials from his administration:
This is not just a problem for countries on the coast or for certain regions of the world. Climate change will impact every country on the planet. No nation is immune. So I am here today to say that climate change constitutes a serious threat to global security, an immediate risk to our national security, and, make no mistake, it will impact how our military defends our country. And so we need to act -- and we need to act now.
-President Obama at the Coast Guard Academy on Wednesday, May 20.
No challenge--no challenge--poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change... The best scientists in the world are all telling us that our activities are changing the climate, and if we do not act forcefully, we’ll continue to see rising oceans, longer, hotter heat waves, dangerous droughts and floods, and massive disruptions that can trigger greater migration, conflict, and hunger around the globe.
-President Obama at the State of the Union Address on January 20, 2015
Our infrastructure – which is central to future productivity gains – needs major improvement... Climate changes remain a threat, as do Islamic extremist groups and Iran, as well as Russia.
-Former CIA Director and Retired Army Gen. David Patraeus and Brookings Institute fellow Michael O'Hanlon in a Washington Post op-ed in January.
Climate change is an urgent and growing threat to our national security, contributing to increased natural disasters, refugee flows, and conflicts over basic resources like food and water... The present day effects of climate change are being felt from the Arctic to the Midwest. Increased sea levels and storm surges threaten coastal regions, infrastructure, and property. In turn, the global economy suffers, compounding the growing costs of preparing and restoring infrastructure.
-Former U.S. official citing a national security document according to Politico.
We've committed to doubling the pace at which we cut carbon pollution, and China has committed, for the first time, to limiting their emissions... And because the world's two largest economies came together, there's new hope that, with American leadership, this year, the world will finally reach an agreement to prevent the worst impacts of climate change before it's too late.
-President Obama in his weekly address in April.
It is unknown exactkt when the Earth and the world economy will pass the point of no return that is so often predicted by so many in the Obama administration and the Democratic Party.