In another move cementing his environmental legacy, President Barack Obama signed a memorandum Wednesday requiring all national security policies and plans to “fully consider the impacts of climate change.”
The memorandum is backed by a report from the National Intelligence Council citing examples of real and potential national-security challenges due to climate change: war caused by drought and crop failure; migration because of hotter temperatures and flooding; and heightened international tensions over increasingly limited natural resources. Earlier this year, the Pentagon began incorporating climate change into its operations from testing weapons to training troops.
In the last few weeks, Obama has created two national monuments, temporarily halted the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, and made climate change a part of national security policy. He likely has a few items left on his climate wishlist, and he’s got 120 days left to check them off.