The Pentagon's chief spokesman said that the climate crisis and China are 'equally important' threats to the US.
After the Biden administration warned of the serious national security China poses to the US, Department of Defense press secretary John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday that the current climate crisis is an equal priority.
Kirby made the comment after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi claimed the US military is a 'larger polluter than 140 countries combined' during the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Scotland this week.
When Kirby was asked on Wednesday whether China or climate change was a bigger threat to the US, Kirby said they both present challenges.
'I think we get paid to examine all threats to our national security,' Kirby said. 'You have heard the secretary talk about the climate as a real and existential national security threat, and it is not just to the United States, but to countries all over the world.'
'And we consider China as the number one facing challenge for the department,' he continued, but adding 'Both are equally important,'
US Department of Defense press secretary John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday that the current climate crisis an equal priority
This comes as China and the US announced they would work together to tackle climate change In the final days of the COP26 (President Xi Jinping pictured)
China recently caught Washington by surprise by launching a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile that circled the earth back in August leading US officials to announce they would be setting up their own version of the 'Iron Dome' on the Pacific Ocean island of Guam and begin testing the missile-defense system.
When pressed by FOX News reporter Lucas Tomlinson about which is a bigger threat between the two, Kirby refused to elaborate further.
'Lucas, I think I answered your question,' Kirby answered.
The Pentagon's statement comes as China and the US announced In the final days of the COP26 that they would work together to tackle climate change.
Few details were immediately available about the 'Declaration for Enhanced Climate Action in the 2020s,' but China's climate envoy Xie Zhenhua said the two countries would reiterate their commitment to limiting global warming to below 2 degrees
