SELECT COMMITTEE: GLOBAL WARMING A GEOPOLITICAL THREAT
FIRST HEARING OF SELECT COMMITTEE ON ENERGY INDEPENDENCE AND GLOBAL WARMING TACKLES SECURITY ISSUEWashington, DC - Responding to the growing concern over the geopolitical and national security concerns from the potential severe impacts of global warming, the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming held its first hearing today discussing these pressing issues and the solutions needed today to address global warming and America’s dependence on oil.
“If left unchecked, global warming could ultimately create real global conflict,” said Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Chairman of the Select Committee. “Minor skirmishes over diminishing resources like clean water will only amplify if we don’t head global warming off at the pass.”
Today’s hearing featured General Gordon Sullivan, Former Chief of Staff, U.S. Army; Ambassador Richard Haass, President, Council on Foreign Relations; James Woolsey, Former CIA Director; Dennis McGinn, Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy, Retired; and Carl Pope, Executive Director, Sierra Club. The hearing is entitled “Geopolitical Implications of Rising Oil Dependence and Global Warming.”
The hearing comes during a week of increasing awareness around the ties between global security and global warming. On Monday a group of respected retired Armed Services generals and admirals released a report drawing attention to global warming as a “threat multiplier.” And yesterday the United Nations Security Council held the first ever meeting on the impact of global warming on conflicts around the world.
“Generals and Admirals who have spent a lifetime on battlefields are telling us global warming is a major strategic weakness,” Rep. Markey explained. “Cleaning up global warming pollution is a serious step we can take now to avoid dangerous conflicts later.”
The most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change highlights where this strain could arise. The 2,000 climate experts who contributed to the report found, among many other impacts, that by 2020 up to 250 million Africans could thirst for clean water that can’t be found, with more than a billion people in Southeast Asia facing the same fate by 2050.
Today Rep. Markey is expected to introduce legislation that would begin to address this important concern. His bill, entitled “Global Climate Change Security Oversight Act,” would authorize a National Intelligence Assessment, which are the most authoritative intelligence judgments concerning national security issues. The legislation will also fund research by the Defense Department into the consequences for U.S. military operations posed by global warming.
To further enhance America’s national security and reduce global warming pollution, Rep. Markey has also introduced the Markey-Platts bill. This legislation would raise fuel economy standards 4 percent per year, reaching 35 miles per gallon (mpg) fleet-wide average by 2018. The bill also calls for a subsequent increase of four percent per year, which would result in 40 mpg by 2022, saving America an equal amount of oil currently imported from the Persian Gulf.
The Select Committee was active during the 110th and 111th Congresses. This is an archived version of the website, to ensure that the public has ongoing access to the Select Committee record. This website, including external links, will not be updated after Jan. 3rd, 2010.
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