Intelligence Director Says Climate Change Will Be ‘Center’ Of U.S. Foreign Policy

Avril Haines said the U.S. would address the phenomenon “not just to protect national security for America, but to protect human security around the world.”

Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence, said the Biden administration views climate change as an “urgent national security threat” that will be at the “center” of the country’s foreign policy.  Haines made the comments at a virtual two-day summit convened by the White House around Earth Day, during which President Joe Biden pledged the United States would slash carbon emissions at least 50% by 2030. The transformation would be a dramatic shift for the country and an essential step to help the world rein in climate change-causing emissions. The U.S. is the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions on the planet. “For the intelligence community, climate change is both a near-term and a long-term threat that will define the next generation,” Haines said Thursday during the summit. “Our services have been raising increasing alarms about the impact that climate change has across every aspect of our work, as geophysical features of our Earth are being reshaped.”