US Defense Sec. says climate Change an existential threat

WASHINGTON, April 22 (KUNA) -- US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday "climate change is making the world more unsafe and we need to act." This came in a speech delivered by Austin at the virtual leaders' summit on climate, adding "Climate Change an Existential Threat." "Today, no nation can find lasting security without addressing the climate crisis. We face all kinds of threats in our line of work, but few of them truly deserve to be called existential. The climate crisis does," he said, adding "climate change is making the world more unsafe and we need to act." The Defense Department has been impacted directly in just the past few years by extreme weather caused by climate change, he said, providing some examples: Hurricane Michael inflicted billions of dollars of damage at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida.
Severe flooding of the Missouri River in the Midwest damaged Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, costing hundreds of millions of dollars.
Wildfires in California have threatened military installations, forcing repeated evacuations.
Typhoons in Guam most commonly occur from June to December, but in February 2019, Typhoon Wutip forced the DOD to pause exercises with Australian and Japanese allies.
The department has been called repeatedly to support communities throughout the United States and abroad, as they attempt to recover from severe weather events, Austin said.
"From coast to coast and across the world, the climate crisis has caused substantial damage and put people in danger, making it more difficult for us to carry out our mission of defending the United States and our allies," he said.
"We in the Department of Defense are committed to doing our part, from increasing the energy efficiency of our platforms and installations, to deploying clean distributed generation and energy storage, to electrifying our own vehicle fleets," he said, adding that "we're not alone," meaning allies and partners are also addressing the threat.
"None of us can tackle this problem alone. We share this planet, and shared threats demand shared solutions. I look forward to working with all of you on this vital mission," he concluded. (Pickup previous) asj.mb