WEBVTT 00:00.440 --> 00:03.750 Good afternoon and thank you all want a 00:03.760 --> 00:05.816 monitor to represent President biden 00:05.816 --> 00:08.390 and hosting today's conversation as we 00:08.400 --> 00:11.190 celebrate Earth Day And the 5th 00:11.190 --> 00:14.010 anniversary of the signing ceremony of 00:14.010 --> 00:17.110 the Paris agreement . I am particularly 00:17.110 --> 00:19.610 grateful to my international colleagues 00:19.610 --> 00:20.850 for joining us today 00:23.240 --> 00:25.530 Today . No nation can find lasting 00:25.530 --> 00:28.300 security without addressing a climate 00:28.300 --> 00:31.730 crisis . We face all kinds of threats 00:31.730 --> 00:33.841 in our line of work , but few of them 00:33.841 --> 00:36.860 truly deserve to be called existential . 00:38.540 --> 00:41.470 A climate crisis does deserve to be 00:41.470 --> 00:45.380 called existential . As NATO 00:45.380 --> 00:48.560 secretary General Stoltenberg has said 00:49.540 --> 00:51.540 our core task is to keep our people 00:51.540 --> 00:54.510 safe and climate change is making the 00:54.510 --> 00:58.060 world more unsafe and we need to act . 00:59.740 --> 01:01.870 The climate crisis is a profoundly 01:01.870 --> 01:05.560 destabilizing force for our world . As 01:05.560 --> 01:07.870 the arctic melts , competition for 01:07.870 --> 01:10.860 resources and influence in the region 01:10.870 --> 01:14.660 increases closer to the equator , 01:15.440 --> 01:17.500 rising temperatures and frequent and 01:17.500 --> 01:20.590 intense extreme weather events in 01:20.590 --> 01:22.710 Africa and central America threatened 01:22.710 --> 01:25.960 millions withdraw hunger and 01:25.960 --> 01:29.640 displacement as families 01:29.640 --> 01:31.807 risked their lives in search of safety 01:31.807 --> 01:34.800 and security . Mass migration leaves 01:34.800 --> 01:38.360 them vulnerable . So exploitation and 01:38.360 --> 01:41.360 radicalization , all of which 01:41.840 --> 01:45.490 undermine stability and in the far 01:45.490 --> 01:48.850 reaches of the pacific , rising sea 01:48.850 --> 01:51.360 levels and more frequent intense storms 01:52.140 --> 01:54.520 put individual families and whole 01:54.520 --> 01:57.770 communities at risk . While pushing the 01:57.770 --> 02:00.340 limits of our collective capacity to 02:00.340 --> 02:03.790 respond . The U . S . Department of 02:03.790 --> 02:06.350 Defense has been impacted directly and 02:06.740 --> 02:08.770 just the past few years by extreme 02:08.770 --> 02:10.714 weather caused by climate change . 02:12.140 --> 02:14.610 Hurricane Michael inflicted billions of 02:14.620 --> 02:17.180 billions of dollars of damage at 02:17.180 --> 02:19.360 Tyndall Air Force Base in florida , 02:21.240 --> 02:23.351 severe flooding of the Missouri River 02:23.351 --> 02:25.990 in the American midwest , damaged off 02:25.990 --> 02:28.730 an air force base costing hundreds of 02:28.730 --> 02:32.580 millions of dollars . Wildfires in 02:32.580 --> 02:34.413 California have threatened other 02:34.413 --> 02:37.440 military installations , forcing 02:37.440 --> 02:39.360 repeated evacuations . 02:41.140 --> 02:43.810 Typhoons and Guam most most commonly 02:43.810 --> 02:46.580 occurred from june The December , but 02:46.580 --> 02:50.550 in February of 2019 , typhoon water 02:51.440 --> 02:53.570 forced us to pause exercises with our 02:53.570 --> 02:56.060 Australian and japanese allies . 02:57.640 --> 02:59.584 Moreover , the department has been 02:59.584 --> 03:03.530 called repeatedly to 03:03.540 --> 03:05.484 support communities throughout the 03:05.484 --> 03:07.410 United States and abroad as they 03:07.410 --> 03:09.577 attempt to recover from severe weather 03:09.577 --> 03:13.480 events and from coast to coast across 03:13.480 --> 03:15.424 the world . The climate crisis has 03:15.424 --> 03:18.260 caused substantial damage and put 03:18.260 --> 03:20.570 people in danger , making it more 03:20.570 --> 03:22.459 difficult for us to carry out our 03:22.459 --> 03:24.810 mission of defending the United States 03:24.810 --> 03:27.140 and our allies . And so that's why 03:27.140 --> 03:29.900 President Biden has tasked The United 03:29.900 --> 03:32.480 States 18 intelligence agencies with 03:32.480 --> 03:34.369 producing a national intelligence 03:34.369 --> 03:38.210 estimate on the security implications 03:38.460 --> 03:41.440 of climate change . And we in the 03:41.440 --> 03:43.607 Department of Defense are committed to 03:43.607 --> 03:46.030 doing our part from increasing the 03:46.030 --> 03:48.197 energy efficiency of our platforms and 03:48.197 --> 03:51.150 installation to employing 03:52.040 --> 03:55.570 clean distributed generation and energy 03:55.570 --> 03:58.860 storage , two electrifying our own 03:58.870 --> 04:01.660 vehicle fleets and we're not alone . 04:02.640 --> 04:04.473 The climate change and stability 04:04.473 --> 04:06.584 strategic approach recently issued by 04:06.584 --> 04:09.860 our allies in the UK , raises the bar 04:10.240 --> 04:12.560 on how militaries can adapt to an 04:12.560 --> 04:14.760 operational environment that considers 04:15.140 --> 04:17.140 the effects of climate change while 04:17.140 --> 04:19.580 advancing military capabilities and 04:19.580 --> 04:22.600 resilience the benefits of action 04:22.600 --> 04:25.280 extend well beyond the climate and 04:25.280 --> 04:27.336 include opportunities to improve our 04:27.336 --> 04:30.530 own operations . For example , when we 04:30.530 --> 04:33.950 operate more sustainably , we become 04:33.960 --> 04:36.740 more logistically agile and ready to 04:36.740 --> 04:40.350 respond to crisis . We also have 04:40.350 --> 04:42.420 once in a generation opportunity to 04:42.420 --> 04:45.350 build an entire economic sector and the 04:45.350 --> 04:47.628 global infrastructure for clean energy . 04:49.040 --> 04:51.690 The truth is that our shared commitment 04:51.690 --> 04:54.320 will allow us to create a safer , more 04:54.320 --> 04:57.890 resilient , secure and sustainable 04:57.890 --> 05:01.660 future . Again , none of us can 05:01.660 --> 05:04.960 tackle this problem alone . We share 05:04.960 --> 05:08.080 this planet and shared threats demand 05:08.080 --> 05:10.740 shared with solutions . And I look 05:10.740 --> 05:13.740 forward to working with all of you on 05:13.740 --> 05:16.950 this vital mission . So thank you 05:18.240 --> 05:21.610 again for joining us . And so now I'd 05:21.610 --> 05:23.943 like to take a minute to introduce my U . 05:23.943 --> 05:25.999 S . Colleagues and our distinguished 05:25.999 --> 05:25.750 panelists .