Donald Trump to drop climate change from list of national security threats

Donald Trump is to remove climate change from the global threats listed in his National Security Strategy, due to be released on Monday.

The new position is a reversal of the Obama administration’s decision to place climate change in the strategy, a decision which Mr Trump mocked on the campaign trail.

The last such strategy document, prepared in 2015, declared climate change an "urgent and growing threat to our national security".

A senior official said the Trump plan removes that determination – following the administration's threat to pull out of the Paris climate accord – but will mention the importance of environmental stewardship.

Instead, the document will focus on economic competitiveness and border security.

An early draft of the strategy suggests a continuation of Mr Trump's "America First" strategy, lamenting that the US had put itself at a disadvantage by entering into multinational agreements, such as those aimed at combating climate change.

The Federalist website quoted the draft document as stating: “US leadership is indispensable to countering an anti-growth energy agenda that is detrimental to US economic and energy security interests”.

“Much of the developing world will require fossil fuels, as well as other forms of energy, to power their economies and lift their people out of poverty.”

The website also quoted the draft report as saying the US will remain a global leader in reducing "traditional pollution" and greenhouse gases, while also growing its economy.

“Climate change is not identified as a national security threat but climate and the importance of the environment and environmental stewardship are discussed,” said a senior administration official.

Additional reporting by AP.