NATO: Climate change is a global threat that all countries must combat
From WN
In some of the strongest comments from the U.S.-European military alliance, NATO’s supreme allied commander for transformation laid out the threat of President Donald Trump mulling to pull out of the Paris accord, according to Reuters.
“There is a huge necessity that the U.N. continues to involve all nations and coordinate the action of all nations,” to fight climate change, said General Denis Mercier on Wednesday. “If one nation, especially the biggest nation … if they do not recognize a problem, then we will have trouble dealing with the causes.”
The U.S. is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases after China and is also the world’s largest economy that agreed to participate in the Paris climate agreement that would limit global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and providing financial assistance to poorer countries suffering from climate change.
Trump has said that the U.S. is treated unfairly in the agreement since it would have to pay more than other countries and will decide in the next few weeks whether to leave or stay with reduced commitments in the pact.
Mercier said the risks of climate change include rising seas, fresh water scarcity, and opening of access to resources in the Arctic which could all create new geopolitical conflicts for the 28 NATO countries but a global effort to help stop climate change could help avoid some of these crises.
A number of private companies including Microsoft, ExxonMobil, and Arch Coal have all urged the U.S. to remain in the Paris agreement to help retain the global competitiveness for the U.S.
–WN.com, Maureen Foody
