Today President Obama is meeting with a bipartisan group of Senators to discuss the issue of climate change and energy legislation.  Not only is comprehensive legislation essential to creating millions of American jobs and transitioning us towards a new clean energy economy, but bipartisan national security experts also agree that it is a critical national security priority. Such a move by the United States Congress is important for there to be sustainable progress - both domestically and internationally - on carbon reduction.  While such legislation would address many of the security concerns expressed by our nation's military and national security experts, extreme conservatives continue to ignore the warnings about this threat and instead insist on "doing nothing."  This is not how America will address the twin challenge of climate change and energy security.

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Today is the start of the two week United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. From now until December 18, negotiators from 190 countries will be working out some of the most complicated and vexing issues surrounding a climate change deal, including cutting greenhouse gas emissions and financial commitments to help developing countries who are ill equipped to deal with the problem. Expectations now center on Copenhagen producing a framework political agreement, with binding targets to come next year.

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Despite conservative efforts to kill the debate, crucial climate legislation is moving forward today in the Senate Energy and Public Works Committee. The Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act will not only strengthen America’s economy by adding jobs and modernizing our industrial base, it will also go far in mitigating the perilous effects that climate change poses to our country’s national security. National security experts, retired military officials, our intelligence community, and many prominent conservatives are in agreement that a rapidly changing climate has a direct impact on our way of life, global stability, and our security as a nation. To prevent these detrimental and preventable impacts to our national security, we need immediate action in the Senate to mitigate the causes and effects of climate change.

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National security experts, retired military officials, and many prominent conservatives are in agreement that the challenge of climate change poses a threat to our way of life, global order, and our security. After eight years of denial and dithering by President Bush, the Obama administration has broad public support for its efforts to revive international climate negotiations. The Obama administration is seeking to make progress on climate change at the Copenhagen talks in December and is also working to increase coordination and collaboration with China on a range of strategic and practical environmental issues. However, for Copenhagen to serve as the launching point for developing a comprehensive and implementable climate change treaty, the United States must lead by example.

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Climate change legislation is moving forward in the Senate. Today, Senators John Kerry (D, MA) and Barbara Boxer (D, CA) are introducing legislation that will serve as the Senate companion bill to the Waxman-Markey climate change bill that passed the House of Representatives this past summer. National security experts, retired military officials, and many prominent conservatives are in agreement that the twin challenges of climate change and energy security pose a threat to our economic well being, environmental health, and national security. This bill will address these diverse challenges in an integrated manner.

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President Obama spoke to a special working group on climate change at the United Nations today, where he urged action. National security experts, retired military officials, and many prominent conservatives are in agreement that the challenge of climate change poses a threat to our way of life, global order, and our security. But tackling these issues will require action from all areas of government. After eight years of denial and dithering by President Bush, the Obama administration has broad public support for its efforts to revive international climate negotiations. But given America’s inability to pass effective legislation on climate change, the world remains skeptical.If the impact on our way of life and the generations that follow us isn’t enough, Senators should recognize that their inaction has dangerous consequences for our national security.

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Today veterans from around the country join former Republican Senator John Warner at the White House to make the case for action on climate change and energy security. National security experts, retired military officials, and many prominent conservatives are in agreement that the twin challenges of climate change and energy security pose a threat to our way of life, global order, and our security. Tackling these issues will require action from all areas of government. The House of Representatives recently took a hugely important step in passing energy and climate change legislation, but the legislation now looks to be bogged down in the Senate. Warner's leadership and the military's concern highlight that energy security and climate change are not partisan issues - they are long-term challenges to our security, our economy and our way of life that we need to start meeting as a nation now. Pretending we can just go on as we are isn't just ignorant, it's dangerous.

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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s trip to India and Southeast Asia this week spotlighted a nation and region on the rise – and showcased the Obama administration’s focus on improving relations and simultaneously tackling the toughest issues, from climate change to North Korea to human rights in Burma. The focal point of the trip was Clinton’s three day visit to India – a country the Administration sees as a potential key strategic ally of the United States. Her trip demonstrated that the Obama administration is capable of forging closer ties, while at the same time addressing contentious issues that the Bush Administration had shied away from, such as climate change.

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National security experts and retired military officials are in agreement that climate change poses a threat to our way of life, to the global order, and even to how we keep ourselves secure. This week’s G-8 summit, which sought to advance climate negotiations prior to meetings in Copenhagen in December, saw developing countries reject binding emission targets out of fear that it would stifle their development, as well as out of a sense that rich developed countries – the principal culprits of global warming – weren’t doing enough. Emerging economies are right that rich developed countries – especially the United States which is the largest per-capita emitter of greenhouse gases – have not done enough. The House of Representatives recently took a hugely important step in passing climate change legislation, but the legislation now looks to be bogged down in the Senate. If the impact on our way of life and the generations that follow us isn’t enough, Senators should recognize that their inaction has important consequences for our diplomacy and security.

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As President Obama stops in Germany briefly before heading to France for commemorations of the 65th anniversary of D-Day, all is not well in the U.S.-German relationship. Even as Obama is tremendously popular personally in Europe, there are indications that diplomatic missteps in both Washington and Berlin, as well as frustration over policy differences on the economic crisis and Afghanistan, have led to tension in the U.S.-German relationship.

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