Fifty-eight admirals and generals, along with 3,600 economists, press leaders to confront climate change with urgency and bipartisan resolve.
by Terry Hansen
Guest Commentary
When it comes to climate change, many competing voices can be hard to sort through. But some of the clearest guidance has come from those who know the stakes best.
Fifty-eight former U.S. national security leaders, including 35 admirals and generals, sent a letter on climate change to President Donald Trump during his first term. This extraordinary letter states: “Climate change is real, it is happening now, it is driven by humans, and it is accelerating.” These senior military and national security leaders also assert that “climate change is a direct threat to the national security of the United States,” and that addressing it should be seen “as a threat reduction issue, not a political one.”
Meanwhile, over 3,600 economists, including 28 Nobel Prize-winners and top economic advisers to presidents of both parties, have endorsed a plan to fight climate change. Their “Economists' Statement on Carbon Dividends" advocates putting a consistently rising price on carbon dioxide emissions and returning the money to the American people.
This statement concludes that the price signal will encourage technological innovation and steer our economy toward a low-carbon future. Returning the revenue to households will shield consumers from rising energy prices, and “the majority of families, including the most vulnerable, will benefit financially.” A border carbon adjustment would protect U.S. competitiveness and encourage other nations to adopt their own carbon pricing systems.
When the admirals, generals, and Nobel economists are saying the same thing, the message is simple: act now.
Guest Commentary
Terry Hansen is a retired educator who writes frequently about climate change. He lives in Milwaukee, WI.
More stories you might like ~
