[American Military News] On Tuesday, President Joe Biden’s administration said climate change can "force" military invention after once again calling it a "national security issue."
John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council, said during a press conference that climate change is a "driver of actual missions" because it creates "instability" and "insecurity."
"It’s a driver of actual missions, because climate change creates instability, which creates insecurity in some places. And you can end up — the fighting in Syria started, really, as a result of a drought. And so, there’s — there’s a — it can actually drive military missions and force the military to become involved in places and at times where they wouldn’t have had to otherwise," Kirby said.
Kirby said climate change impacts the U.S. military’s readiness "because our — our troops, our sailors, our Marines, our airmen, our Coast Guardsmen are being called out for — to respond to natural disasters, which are getting worse because of climate change."
He also claimed that climate change can "affect our infrastructure," adding that military bases like Norfolk Naval Base have invested "millions of dollars to try to improve their infrastructure because of rising sea levels."
"So it has an impact on our infrastructure. It has an impact on our readiness, because you — and you’re seeing it now, even in the wildfires, where so many National Guardsmen are being called out," Kirby said. "And — and God love them for that, but they’re — those are important tasks and missions, but it takes away from other tasks and missions when it comes to defending the United States."
Kirby said President Biden believes climate change is a "very important issue for our own national security."
"And we’re going to — we’re going to treat it that way," he concluded. |