RELEASE: ASP COO Andrew Holland Testifies in Front of Congress
Contact: Annie Aleman
Email: aaleman@americansecurityproject.org
Phone: 202-347-3115
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington, D.C., February 12, 2020 – The American Security Project’s (ASP) COO Andrew Holland testified today in front of the Senate Special Committee on the Climate Crisis.
A leading expert on climate and energy security, Holland highlighted the national security implications of climate change and its effects on local political, social and economic conditions.
“In the security community, we call climate change a ‘threat multiplier’ or an ‘accelerant of instability.’ The climate affects issues like food, water, energy security. Its second order effects create economic and political challenges, could drive migration, unrest and – potentially – armed conflict.”
Holland continued on to explain why the effects of climate change continue to be in the forefront of policymakers’ minds. Drawing from the 9/11 commission report, Holland reminded the Senators that ungoverned spaces are a threat to U.S. national security. Changes in weather patterns force migration and allow for terrorist groups the physical space the need to grow and rapidly expand their efforts.
“While we know the U.S. cannot ignore [groups like ISIS and Boko Haram], we should be concerned that we’re ignoring other places with the same conditions that allowed them to grow and thrive.”
Ignoring climate change in areas such as the Pacific and the Artic also allows U.S. adversaries to utilize foreign assistance as a tool of influence.
“In the coming years, climate action will be an increasingly important tool of soft power – one where the U.S. is seen to be absent.”
ASP has been a leader in educating the public on climate security since its inception in 2005. ASP will continue to publish regular findings and tour the country in order to advocate for stronger U.S. national security.
Resources:
ASP COO Andrew Holland Testimony.
The American Security Project (ASP) is a nonpartisan organization created to educate the American public and the world about the changing nature of national security in the 21st Century.
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