Kerry doubles down on climate change

Secretary of State John Kerry doubled down Wednesday on his comments calling climate change a major national security threat.

Kerry has come under fire from conservatives after calling global warming one of the “most fearsome” weapons of mass destruction threatening to destroy the planet during a speech in Indonesia earlier this month. He reiterated that belief in an interview with MSNBC on Wednesday.

“What I said about climate change is that it’s one of the … two or three weapons, or instruments, of mass destruction, which it is. It’s having a profound impact on a global basis, and will continue to,” Kerry said.

Kerry championed the fight against climate change as a senator and has continued to make it a top priority as America’s top diplomat. He oversaw the signing of an agreement with China on cutting emissions. The Asian power is the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter.

“Climate change, global warming – whatever anybody’s preference to call it is – is increasingly a national security threat,” he said. “It is increasingly going to provide major challenges to food security; to water security; to refugee populations, which it’s going to create; to the stability and instability of countries; to economies. This is growing in its urgency for us to respond to it. And so I will continue down that path.”

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