"Obama Recasts Climate Change as a More Far-Reaching Peril"

"WASHINGTON — President Obama will use a commencement address at the Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut on Wednesday to cast his push for urgent action to combat climate change as a national security imperative, arguing that the warming of the planet poses an 'immediate risk' to the United States.

The speech is part of an effort by Mr. Obama to make a multipronged case for his ambitious climate-change agenda, which he identifies as a top priority for the remainder of his time in office and regards as a central element of his legacy. Instead of promoting his plan strictly in environmental terms, he has pitched it as beneficial for the economy and vital to the nation’s security.

'I am here today to say that climate change constitutes a serious threat to global security, an immediate risk to our national security, and, make no mistake, it will impact how our military defends our country,' Mr. Obama will tell the graduating cadets, according to excerpts from his speech distributed by the White House. 'And so we need to act, and we need to act now.'"

Julie Hirschfeld Davis reports for the New York Times May 20, 2015.