NEW LONDON, Conn. -- President Barack Obama used a commencement address Wednesday at the Coast Guard Academy to cast his push for action to combat climate change as a national security imperative, saying the warming of the planet poses an "immediate risk" to the U.S.
The speech was part of an effort by Obama to make a multipronged case for his ambitious climate-change agenda, which he has identified as a top priority for the remainder of his time in office. Instead of promoting his plan only in environmental terms, he has pitched it as beneficial for the economy, necessary to protect public health and vital to the nation's security.
"I am here today to say that climate change constitutes a serious threat to global security, an immediate risk to our national security, and, make no mistake, it will impact how our military defends our country," Obama told about 4,200 people at the ceremony. "And so we need to act, and we need to act now."
"The science is indisputable," he said. "The planet is getting warmer."
The president argued that climate change has set off dangerous domino effects around the world, prompting a severe drought in Nigeria that was exploited by the terrorist group Boko Haram. He said drought, crop failures and high food prices "helped fuel the early unrest in Syria" before that country descended into civil war.
"We all know what needs to happen; it's no secret: The world finally has to start reducing its carbon emissions now," the president said. "This is a place where we need you."
In March, Obama introduced a blueprint for cutting U.S. greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade by up to 28 percent from 2005 levels. The plan, which hinges on new Environmental Protection Agency rules intended to drastically reduce planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions from cars and coal-fired power plants, will be the White House's formal submission to the United Nations ahead of a December meeting on climate change in Paris.
Obama faces strong opposition on climate change efforts from many Republicans and coal-industry officials, who say the proposal is a vast executive overreach and would devastate the economy. Facing such resistance, the president is working to build support in other ways, including his focus on national defense.
"Denying it or refusing to deal with it endangers our national security. It undermines the readiness of our forces," Obama said. "Politicians who say they care about military readiness ought to care about this, as well."
A Section on 05/21/2015