The Center for Climate & Security

Home » Posts tagged 'President Obama'

Tag Archives: President Obama

A Presidential Perspective on Climate Change and Security

SouthPorticoBy Neil Bhatiya, Climate and Diplomacy Fellow, The Center for Climate and Security

In a wide-ranging story published today in the Atlantic, correspondent Jeffrey Goldberg analyzes the Obama Administration’s foreign policy record, and the particular mix of ideas, experiences, and emotions that underpin the President’s approach to the world. Over the course of several years, Goldberg has discussed global crises with the President, from Afghanistan to Libya, Syria, and Ukraine. Among the fascinating details is an excerpt that reveals how the President tries to think of the varied threats facing the country:   (more…)

Pres. Obama On How Climate Risks Compare To Other National Security Priorities

President Barack Obama delivers remarks at the concluding session of the Conference on Global Leadership in the Arctic: Cooperation, Innovation, Engagement and Resilience (GLACIER) in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 31, 2015. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]

Pres. Obama delivers remarks at the GLACIER conference in Alaska. State Department photo

During President Obama’s recent visit to Alaska, Rolling Stone’s Jeff Goodell sat down with him to talk climate. One of Goodell’s questions to President Obama was on how climate change compared to other national security risks. Both the question and President Obama’s response are worth reading and are copied below. Goodell also noted the significance of National Security Advisor Susan Rice’s participation in the Alaska trip: (more…)

U.S. Coast Guard On the Front Lines of Climate Change and National Security

Bow ThrustersToday, President Obama delivered the commencement address to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Excerpts from the speech related to climate change and security are below. The White House also simultaneously released a review of federal reports on climate change and national security here (for more documents and resources, see our ClimateSecurity101). Below are responses from Center for Climate and Security Advisory Board members and staff.

Lieutenant General John G. Castellaw, US Marine Corps (ret), Advisory Board Member, The Center for Climate and Security
“The U.S. Coast Guard is on the front lines of the national security implications of a changing climate. It’s time our nation’s policy-makers gave them the support they need to help prevent, prepare for and respond to those risks.” (more…)

State of the Union: Pentagon Recognizes “Immediate Risks” Posed by Climate Change

Army_Gen._Martin_E._Dempsey,_chairman_of_the_Joint_Chiefs_of_Staff,_and_other_defense_leaders_cited_in_President_Barack_Obama's_State_of_the_Union_address_at_t_140128-D-XXXB-004aIn his State of the Union address last night, President Obama recognized the Pentagon’s concerns about the security risks of a changing climate, stating:

The Pentagon says that climate change poses immediate risks to our national security. We should act like it.

(more…)

%d bloggers like this: