Climate change threatens global, US security -- Obama

WASHINGTON, May 20 (KUNA) -- Climate change constitutes a serious threat to global security, an immediate risk to US national security, and will affect how the United States defends itself, President Barack Obama said on Wednesday.
"And so we need to act, and we need to act now," Obama said during a commencement address at the US Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut.
"The world has to finally start reducing its carbon emissions -- now, and that is why I have committed the United States to leading the world on this challenge," he said.
Denying the existence of climate change or refusing to deal with it endangers US national security and undermines the readiness of US forces, the President said.
Rising seas are already swallowing low-lying lands from Bangladesh to Pacific islands, forcing people from their homes, Obama said. Caribbean islands and Central American coasts are vulnerable, as well, he added.
"Globally, we could see a rise in climate change refugees, and I guarantee you the Coast Guard will have to respond," Obama said.
Elsewhere, more intense droughts will exacerbate shortages of water and food, increase competition for resources, and create the potential for mass migrations and new tensions -- all of which is why the Pentagon calls climate change a "threat multiplier," he said Severe drought helped to create the instability in Nigeria that was exploited by the terrorist group Boko Haram, Obama said.
"It is now believed that drought and crop failures and high food prices helped fuel the early unrest in Syria, which descended into civil war in the heart of the Middle East," he said.
"So, increasingly, our military and our combatant commands, our services -- including the Coast Guard -- will need to factor climate change into plans and operations, because you need to be ready." Around the world, climate change will mean more extreme storms, and US military forces will have to be ready, he said.
By the middle of this century, Arctic summers could be essentially ice free, Obama said. "We are witnessing the birth of a new ocean -- new sea lanes, more shipping, more exploration, more competition for the vast natural resources below," he added.
US bases and ports are using more solar and wind power, which helps save money that can be used to improve readiness, Obama said.
The Army is pursuing new, lighter, more fuel-efficient vehicles; the Air Force F-22 broke the sound barrier using biofuels; and the Navy runs an entire carrier strike group -- the Green Fleet -- with biofuels, he said.
"Our Marines have deployed to Afghanistan with portable solar panels, lightening their load and reducing dangerous resupply missions," Obama said. "So fighting climate change and using energy wisely also makes our forces more nimble and more ready, and that is something that should unite us as Americans." (end) rm.ibi