President Obama is sending a clear message to the world that he will travel to the climate change summit in Paris next week, describing the journey as an important message to Islamic State terrorists.
“Look, I think it is absolutely vital for every country, every leader to send a signal that the viciousness of a handful of killers does not stop the world from doing vital business,” Obama said, when asked on Sunday whether the attacks would have an effect on the mood of the summit.
Obama has repeatedly emphasized the damaging effect that climate change has on national security in preparation for the summit. During a Coast Guard graduation speech in May, Obama emphasized that the recruits would be facing the threat global warming.
“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,” he said.
Secretary of State John Kerry has also repeatedly warned that climate change threatened national security.
“When I think about the array of global climate – of global threats – think about this: terrorism, epidemics, poverty, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction – all challenges that know no borders – the reality is that climate change ranks right up there with every single one of them,” Kerry noted in February 2014.
Even White House National Security advisor Susan Rice warned that climate change was an “advancing menace” and the greatest “long-term” threat to national security.
“Today, we face no greater long-term challenge than climate change, an advancing menace that imperils so many of the other things we hope to achieve,” she said during a speech last month.