Rep. Kathy Castor Invites Energy Security Leader Sharon Burke to Joint Session of Congress with NATO Secretary General

WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep Kathy Castor, chair of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, will attend Wednesday’s Joint Session of Congress with Sharon Burke, a senior advisor for New America and a former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Operational Energy.

The Joint Session marks the 70th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Congress will hear from NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

“America, in partnership with our allies, have solved global crises before,” Castor said. “And the climate crisis is no different. Rising seas and droughts are driving refugees from their homes all around the world. Greater instability across the globe is a threat to security and peace. This is one reason countries have come together to cut the dangerous carbon pollution that is causing the climate crisis. And it’s why Congress has recognized that climate change is a direct threat to our national security.”

Castor’s district includes MacDill Air Force Base, which the Department of Defense identified as one of many bases adapting to rising seasand other effects of the climate crisis. Last week, Castor introduced H.R. 9, the Climate Action Now Act, which would ensure that America stays in the Paris Climate Agreement and directs the Trump administration to develop a plan to meet the U.S. carbon pollution reduction pledge as part of that agreement.

“The Pentagon has told us again and again that climate change is a national security issue,” Burke said. “This is all about how a rapidly changing climate will affect the safety and prosperity of Americans at home, our leadership in the world, and our collective readiness to face future threats.”

Burke testified before a House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness last month about how DoD is integrating climate change into its operations.