NEW LONDON, conn. — President Barack Obama has argued for action on climate change as a matter of health, environmental protection and international obligation. On Wednesday, he added national security.
Those who deny global warming are putting at risk the United States and the military sworn to defend it, he told cadets at the Coast Guard Academy. Failure to act would be “dereliction of duty,” their commander in chief said.
He said climate change and rising sea levels jeopardize the readiness of U.S. forces and threaten to aggravate social tensions and political instability around the globe. His message to climate-change skeptics was unequivocal: “Denying it or refusing to deal with it undermines our national security.”
He laid out his administration’s steps to reduce carbon greenhouse gas, including limits on emissions from vehicles and power plants. The government expects those emission reductions to provide the U.S. contribution to a global climate treaty expected to be finalized in December.
