WASHINGTON, D.C. -- This morning at 10:30am, Senator John Kerry, Senator John Warner, Senator Barbara Boxer, and Senator Joseph Lieberman held a press conference with two retired military officers, Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan and Adm. T. Joseph Lopez, for the purpose of discussing the national-security implications as impacted by global climate change.

Gen. Sullivan is the chairman of the military advisory board of the CNA Corporation, an internationally recognized nonprofit institution that conducts in-depth, independent research and analysis on a vast array of public-interest challenges. Other board members include Adm. Lopez, Adm. Frank "Skip" Bowman, Lt. Gen. Lawrence P. Farrell Jr., Vice Adm. Paul G. Gaffney II, Gen. Paul J. Kern, Adm. Donald L. Pilling, Adm. Joseph W. Prueher, Vice Adm. Richard H. Truly, Gen. Charles F. Wald and Gen. Anthony Zinni.

In CNA research titled "National Security and the Threat of Climate Change," these distinguished officers concluded that "global climate change presents a new and very different type of national security challenge."

"Both I and my colleagues came to agree that global climate change is and will be a significant threat to our national security," Gen. Sullivan said this morning. "The potential destabilizing impacts include reduced access to fresh water, impaired food production, land loss and the displacement of major populations. And overall, we view these phenomena as related to failed states, growth of terrorism, mass migrations and greater regional and inter-regional instability."

"National security involves much more than just military strength. National security is affected by political, military, cultural and economic elements. And climate change has an impact on each of them," said Adm. Lopez. "The instabilities that already exist will create a fertile ground for extremism – and these instabilities are likely to be exacerbated by global climate change."

Click to view Gen. Sullivan's and Adm. Lopez's statements.

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