On Wednesday, the two South Florida congressmen in charge of the Climate Solutions--Republican Carlos Curbelo and Democrat Ted Deutch--hosted an event focused on how climate change can pose a global security threat.
Retired British Admiral Neil Morisetti, who served as his special representative for climate change for then Foreign Minister William Hauge, addressed the caucus on Wednesday.
"From severe droughts to record global temperatures to rapid sea level rising, we cannot afford to ignore the devastating impact of climate change on regions around the world,” Deutch said after Morisetti’s presentation. “As communities struggle to respond to harsher weather patterns and scarcer resources, there are severe implications for global security. Taking firm measures on climate change means acting to protect our national security and preserve global stability.”
“I am thankful for the insight provided by retired Rear Admiral Neil Morisetti of the British Royal Navy to ,embers of the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus,” said Curbelo. “As a former U.K. foreign secretary’s special representative for climate change, he has a unique perspective on the issue, and it was interesting to hear his expertise first-hand. Learning the methods other countries implement to handle climate change makes us more effective leaders, and I look forward to discussing his views with my colleagues.”
The caucus, which bills itself as the “first bipartisan task force on climate change" in the House, launched earlier this year. “The caucus will serve as an organization to educate members on economically-viable options to reduce climate risk and protect our nation’s economy, security, infrastructure, agriculture, water supply and public safety,” the new caucus noted about its mission.
While the caucus has under 20 members, Florida is well represented in the group. Besides the two chairmen, Florida Republicans David Jolly and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Democrat Patrick Murphy are members of the caucus.
