Obama ties climate change to 'likelihood of global conflict' in Twitter Q&A

President Barack Obama took to Twitter on Thursday to answer climate change-related questions.

“Mr ‪@POTUS,” began @ZCarlander, based out of Sweden, “in the state of the union speech you said that climate change is a national security issue. Can you explain why it is? #AskPOTUS”.

Minutes later Obama’s answer came back, just three characters short of his 140-character limit: “More severe weather events lead to displacement, scarcity, stressed populations; all increase likelihood of global conflict.”

Obama did not just rise to the task of linking climate change to national security in the space of a line or two. He also took up the question of climate change as a moral issue, aligning himself with Pope Francis, or @Pontifex, and other religious leaders.

Climate change is a moral and religious issue because “we have a moral obligation to the most vulnerable and the next generation”, @POTUS wrote.

But it wasn’t all plain sailing. Obama took one question that has raised hackles in environmental circles recently, relating to his administration’s controversial move earlier this month to allow the oil giant Shell back into the US Arctic for exploratory drilling.

The move, condemned by environmental groups who have warned of the likelihood of a catastrophic oil spill, has tarnished an environmental legacy that Obama is trying to build in his final year and a half as president.

Obama wrote that oil exploration in the region couldn’t be prevented, and as a result “the highest possible standards” had been set.

Obama added that an original Shell proposal had been rejected, which showed the administration was “serious” – presumably referring to setting high standards related to secure drilling in the region.

Climate change was the issue of the day for Obama, who spent part of Thursday morning taking his annual tour of the National Hurricane Center, where he warned the intensity and pace of extreme weather conditions was being amplified by climate change.

After renewing expressions of condolences for the lives lost due to tornadoes and flooding in Texas and Oklahoma this month, the president mentioned climate change as a factor in intensifying severe weather. While climate change didn’t cause Hurricane Sandy, it might have made it stronger, Obama said, calling for increased preparedness and resiliency.

Obama has been tweeting as @POTUS for only 10 days. Following today’s climate change Q&A, almost half of his 25 tweets had focused on climate change, or climate change-related issues.