Part Of The Jaquari Reservoir During A Drought In Vargem, Sao Paulo
A graffiti of a dead fish is pictured in part of the Jaquari reservoir, during a drought in Vargem, Sao Paulo state January 28, 2015. Sao Paulo, Brazil's drought-hit megacity of 20 million, has about two months of guaranteed water supply remaining as it taps into the second of three emergency reserves, officials say. Reuters/Roosevelt Cassio

US President Barack Obama believes climate change is a greater threat to national security in the United States than terrorism. His views on the issue were confirmed by White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest.

In an interview with Vox, the president said he believes the media overstates the level of alarm people should have about terrorism as compared to climate change. Climate change affects many more lives directly than terrorism does.

While terrorism regularly kills people, Earnest did not mention how many lives climate change had taken in the United States. When he was asked again if climate change is more of a clear and present danger to the United States than terrorism, he said that climate change poses a threat to national security interests primarily because of the impact it can have on countries with less developed infrastructure than the United States.

Climate change is considered to be an urgent and growing threat to national security, contributing to increased natural disasters, refugee flows and conflicts over basic resources like food and water. In 2008, a national intelligence assessment found that climate change will have wide-ranging implications for U.S. national security interests over the next 20 years. The Obama administration has taken the threat seriously enough to establish a Climate Action Plan with the goal of reducing emissions by 26 to 28 per cent of 2005 levels by 2025. The administration has also set standards to reduce carbon emissions from power plants.

On the other hand, the Energy and Commerce Committee released an energy legislative action plan that includes building modern energy infrastructure to carry abundant new supplies of oil and gas to consumers. In addition, there is the debate between Congress and Obama over the Keystone XL pipeline. Obama is believed to be just days away from issuing a veto over legislation that would allow the Keystone pipeline to be built.

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