Voice of America - Mary Alice Salinas
WHITE HOUSE — U.S. President Barack Obama says climate change is a growing threat
to national security and its impact should be factored into national
security-related decisions, plans and actions.
Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum establishing the new policy Thursday.
The memorandum calls for 20 federal agencies and offices to work
together to ensure “the best information on climate impacts is available
to strengthen our national security,” according to the White House.
The move came on the same day the National Intelligence Council
released a report saying climate change “will likely pose significant
national security challenges” over the next 20 years, including on U.S.
military operations and bases.
It also said climate change is already causing national security problems around the globe and will worsen.
Threat to stability
The problems include the ability of affected nations to respond to
and recover from climate change, something that could lead to political
instability.
Obama called on agencies to come up with a blueprint “to identify and
react on climate-change-related impacts on national security,” said
Brian Deese, senior adviser to the president.
The Presidential Memorandum requires an assessment and policy plan be completed in 90 days.
"That will provide a template that should help encourage this work and provide direction for this work,” Deese added.
The next administration will not be required to enforce it.
“There is every reason for the next administration to follow this
blueprint,” Dr. John Holdren, assistant to the president for science and
technology and director of the White House Office of Science and
Technology Policy. “The facts on the ground and in the atmosphere and in
the ocean are not going to change.”
This “policy anchors our work going forward in this area,” said Alice
Hill, special assistant to the president and senior director for
resilience policy on the National Security Council.
“These threats are already here, they are anticipated to grow, and now is the time,” she warned.
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