Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Kerry to warn of climate threats to national security in speech

Kerry to warn of climate threats to national security in speech
By Laura Barron-Lopez - 05/14/14 11:43 AM EDT
Secretary of State John Kerry plans to give a major speech on the connection between climate change and national security this summer.

In an interview with the New York Times, Kerry said the speech would also be an opportunity to build political support for President Obama's climate agenda.

“We’re going to try to lay out to people legitimate options for action that are not bank-breaking or negative," Kerry said.

A central part of that agenda are regulations to curb carbon emissions from new and existing coal-fired power plants.

Kerry spoke with the Times after the release Tuesday of a government-funded military research study, which found that the increasing rate of climate changes will serve as "catalysts for instability and conflict."

The report, published by the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) Corporation's Military Advisory Board, also states that the growing number of extreme weather events across the globe, brought on by climate change, will spark a demand for U.S. troops.

Kerry said that the report's findings, which were based on analyses by every U.S. military branch, numerous federal agencies, and industry, will influence U.S. foreign policy.

“Tribes are killing each other over water today,” Mr. Kerry said. “Think of what happens if you have massive dislocation, or the drying up of the waters of the Nile, of the major rivers in China and India. The intelligence community takes it seriously, and it’s translated into action.”

The report goes on to recommend that the Department of Defense develop, fund, and implement plants to adapt, placing higher emphasis on the projected impacts of climate change on Pentagon facilities, and associated infrastructure.

Tuesday's report built upon a 2007 study by the center's Military Advisory Board, which included retired three-star and four-star admirals and generals.

In this year's report, the military board states that in many cases the risks identified in the 2007 report are occurring faster than anticipated.

"We can’t discuss the future of national and international security without addressing climate change," said Chairman of the CNA military board Paul J. Kern, a retired Army general.

Future global conflicts will likely be centered around food shortages, limited water resources, and desertification, brought on by climate change, said retired Navy Vice Adm. Lee F. Gunn in a statement.

Gunn added that the climate impacts will escalate already existing tensions, creating new reasons for military intervention.

In the U.S., the challenges will be different, the report states, taking the form of flooded bases, strained responses to national disasters, and infrastructure damage.

"But the cause is the same: unmitigated climate change," Gunn said.

John Kerry
John F. Kerry is the secretary at the U.S. Department of State for the Barack Obama administration, Cameron F. Kerry’s brother, and married to Teresa Heinz Kerry.

Note: Cameron F. Kerry is John F. Kerry’s brother, and a fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Teresa Heinz Kerry is married to John F. Kerry, and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank), the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), and the Climate Reality Project.
George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, and is a board member for the International Crisis Group.
Nancy E. Soderberg was a VP for the International Crisis Group, and a
staff director for the National Security Council.
Jessica Tuchman Mathews was a board member for the International Crisis Group, the under secretary for the U.S. Department of State, a director of the Office of Global Issues, director of the Office of Global Issues for the National Security Council, an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), is the president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
Ed Griffin’s interview with Norman Dodd in 1982
(The investigation into the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace uncovered the plans for population control by involving the United States in war)
Richard N. Haass was a VP for the Brookings Institution (think tank), a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), a director of policy planning for the U.S. Department of State, and a special assistant for the National Security Council.
Robert Malley is a Middle East & North Africa program director at the International Crisis Group, and a director for democracy, human rights & humanitarian affairs at the National Security Council.
Leslie H. Gelb was a board member for the International Crisis Group, and a reporter, columnist & op-ed page editor for the New York Times.
Steven L. Rattner was an economic correspondent for the New York Times, and a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Jeffrey Bader is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), was the deputy assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of State, and a senior director for East Asian affairs for the National Security Council.
Daniel Benjamin was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), the coordinator for counterterrorism for the U.S. Department of State, and a director for transnational threats at the National Security Council.
Philip H. Gordon was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), an assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of State, a senior fellow at the National Security Council, and is a special assistant to the president for the Barack Obama administration.
Ivo H. Daalder was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), a director for European Affairs at the National Security Council.
Martin S. Indyk was a VP & director of the Foreign Policy Program for the Brookings Institution (think tank), a senior director for Near East and South Asia for the National Security Council, an assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of State, is the Middle East peace envoy for the U.S. Department of State, and a founding director for the Saban Center for Middle East Policy.
Saban Center for Middle East Policy is a policy center at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Kenneth M. Pollack is a senior fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy, was a senior fellow, Middle East policy for the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a director for Persian Gulf affairs for the National Security Council.
Carlos Pascual was a VP at the Brookings Institution (think tank), a senior director at the National Security Council, and is a special envoy, international energy affairs, an assistant secretary nominee for the U.S. Department of State.
Susan E. Rice was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), a special assistant to the president at the National Security Council, the assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of State, and is the White House national security adviser for the Barack Obama administration.
 Albert A. Gore Jr. was a member of the National Security Council, a donor for The Climate Project, and is the chairman for the Climate Reality Project.
The Climate Project is a merged organization with the Climate Reality Project.

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