Address Climate Change as a National Security Threat, Urges Bipartisan Group

A group of top U.S. foreign policy and national security leaders issued a statement this month urging Congress and the Administration to "transcend the political issues that divide us - by party and by region" and engage cooperation on climate change because of national security concerns. The bipartisan group, convened by the Partnership for a Secure America (PSA), calls for "a clear, comprehensive, realistic and broadly bipartisan plan" that will allow the U.S. to lead the development of a global strategy to mitigate and adapt to the climate change crisis (emphasis is mine). Their statement is timely with international negotiations over climate change action slated for this December in Copenhagen.

The statement terms climate change "a national security issue." Calling for immediate U.S. action, it suggests that "the longer we wait to act, the harder it will be to mitigate and respond to [climate change's] impacts." The bipartisan statement is signed by eight former Senators, three former National Security Advisors, two former Secretaries of State, a former Secretary of Defense, and both the Chair and Vice Chair of the 9/11 Commission. The statement is entitled "Climate Change Threatens All Americans. We Must Work together on an American Strategy," and its signers are found on the PSA website.

"American leadership is necessary to address the threat of climate change," said PSA Advisory Board co-chair former Rep. Lee HamiltonRep. Lee Hamilton (D-IN). "The United States must work to forge a consensus, both domestically and internationally, with leaders from around the world and both parties, on a unified strategy that can succeed in countering this threat to international security."

"Our efforts to combat climate change will be only as enduring as they are cooperative, as effective as they are concerted. The United States urgently needs a bipartisan solution that recognizes climate change as a critical security issue," said PSA Advisory Board co-chair and former Sen. Warren Rudman (R-NH).

The text of the statement follows:

Climate change is a national security issue. The longer we wait to act, the harder it will be to mitigate and respond to its impacts. U.S. leadership alone will not guarantee global cooperation. But if we fail to take action now, we will have little hope of influencing other countries to reduce their own harmful contributions to climate change, or of forging a coordinated international response.

We must also help less developed countries adapt to the realities and consequences of a drastically changed climate. Doing so now will help avoid humanitarian disasters and political instability in the future that could ultimately threaten the security of the U.S. and our allies.

But most importantly, we must transcend the political issues that divide us – by party and by region – to devise a unified American strategy that can endure and succeed.

We, the undersigned Republicans and Democrats, believe Congress working closely with the Administration must develop a clear, comprehensive, realistic and broadly bipartisan plan to address our role in the climate change crisis. WE MUST LEAD.

Source: Partnership for a Secure America. Press Release 9/8/2009. No copyright restrictions.

CONTACT: Michael Landweber (202-293-8582)