Obama: Climate change poses 'immediate risk to our national security'
The global consequences of climate change pose a "threat to the readiness" of America's troops and will dramatically impact how they are trained, equipped, and deployed, President Obama will say Wednesday in a Coast Guard Academy commencement address.
"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," Obama will say, according to text of the address released by the White House.
Floods, wildfires, and extreme weather made more commonplace by climate change will threaten America's bases, Obama will say. And the repercussions from those natural disasters will sow political instability around the world, giving rise to new and unique national security challenges.
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President Obama has made addressing climate change a central issue of his remaining time in office. He announced a historic climate accord with China in November, and has pushed for a global deal to reduce emissions ahead of climate talks slated for December in Paris.
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