US Admits Climate Change is a Threat to National Security
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A US intelligence report warns that climate change threatens the country's national security and global stability.
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The White House mentioned that US national security bodies will be integrating climate change effects into their planning.
US intelligence services said on Thursday for the first time that climate change poses wide-ranging threats to US national security and stability around the world.
In a summary of reports issued by the intelligence services, the White House said that more extreme weather "will increasingly exacerbate a number of risks to US national security interests, from physical impacts that could cascade into security challenges, to how countries respond to the climate challenge."
The assessment was made in the first official assessment by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees the sprawling US intelligence apparatus.
According to these services, climate change is driving "increased geopolitical tension as countries argue over who should be doing more."
The White House mentioned that US national security bodies will be integrating climate change effects into their planning.
The summary said the Pentagon will consider climate change "at every level, which will be essential to train, fight, and win in an increasingly complex environment."
Migration, a politically sensitive issue on the US southern border, will also be seen partly through the lens of climate change, the White House said.
"This assessment marks the first time the US government is officially recognizing and reporting on this linkage," announced the summary.
The report was issued ahead of the UN climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland - the COP26 - which Joe Biden will be attending.
With more than 85 percent of global emissions coming from beyond US borders, we alone cannot solve this challenge. We need the rest of the world to accelerate their progress," a senior US official, who asked not to be identified, told AFP.
