The U.S. has warned of the consequences of climate change on the country’s national security, saying that this phenomenon seriously affects the American people and economy.

“Around the world today, our people and economies are increasingly impacted by the severe consequences of the climate crisis. Coastal communities and military bases are threatened by storms and flooding,” the White House said in a statement late Friday, commenting on a new U.S. framework for climate resilience and security.

Extreme heat, now a regular phenomenon with each passing summer, costs lives, reduces productivity, and damages critical infrastructure, it said, adding that vital breadbaskets face historic droughts, and are no longer able to regularly deliver on the food security needs of their regions, and record-breaking fires ravage forests, spill into communities, and pollute the air.

The U.S. national security community has long understood climate change to be a “threat multiplier”, intensifying existing security threats and v
ulnerabilities, and decreasing resilience, it underlined.

“But today, the devastating impacts of the climate crisis increasingly are themselves the new direct threats from which we must protect our communities. We are witnessing cycles of cascading climate impacts and increasing instability, at home and across the globe,” the White House said.

“As described in our recent U.S. National Climate Assessment, growing climate vulnerabilities have profound impacts for U.S. national security, economic, and strategic interests. As our military is increasingly called upon to respond to disasters, we risk stretching defense resources,” it said.

Source: Kuwait News Agency