On March 7, Secretary Kerry issued a policy directive to the Department of State calling on the need to integrate considerations of climate change into everything the department does. While the directive itself has not yet been publicly released, the State Department blog highlighted six priority areas. Of particular note to those interested in the nexus of climate change and security is item number seven:
VII. Integrate climate change with other priorities: Better integrating climate solutions into cross-cutting challenges, including women’s empowerment, urbanization, conflict and national security, and our own management and operations.
In context of the climate-security considerations in the recently-released Quadrennial Defense Review, it seems that the Department of State and the Department of Defense are on the same page. That’s a very good sign.
Read the full announcement here.
I fully support the activities of Secretary of State John Kerry. Especially singled to the following positions: 1 . Initiative to develop and adopt a new , ambitious program to combat climate change and reduce the risks of abnormal climatic events within the relevant Convention UN. I am convinced that the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol constrain work on climate stabilization : The Kyoto Protocol does not provide for the existence of just such a possibility. 2 . Informed Giving priority to ” time factor “, which actually creates a concern for the fate of human civilization from the observed rapid acceleration and increased negative impacts of climate change. 3 . Targeting the real international cooperation , largely – objectively – more powerful than the Kyoto Protocol … which degenerated into emissions trading gases in Earth’s atmosphere. IMHO, I believe that the work of Secretary of State John Kerry should be widely supported in the media not only in the United States .