Paris Climate Talks
Floor Speech
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Mr. President, just a brief moment. First and foremost, I want to thank the group of Senators who went over to Paris on the codel. It was very important that the United States of America was well represented there and that this body was well represented there.
I especially thank Senator Cardin for leading that codel. His leadership was critical. As the ranking member of Foreign Relations, to have him lead and understand that this is a critical issue not just in regard to the climate in general but also to our national defense, to our strength as a Nation, and to our economy--it was good to have him leading and understanding the breadth of these issues.
When I was over there, I was moved to see virtually all of the globe represented by leaders, heads of state, members of Parliament, NGOs, corporations--major, global, dominant corporations. Everyone was there. There was an array of the planet coming together, focused on this issue of the impacts of climate change. Conversations ranged from focusing on us being innovative and how we are dealing with renewable technology so that technology can be a great pathway toward sustainability in the future, all the way to resiliency and making sure we were doing the things to protect populations from the effect of climate change, especially when it comes to poor populations who are disproportionately affected.
I had the chance, the honor while I was there of leading a bilateral conversation with Bangladesh, talking to peer leaders--the United States sitting down at a table with and across the table from Ministry and Parliamentary members from Bangladesh.
By many estimates, Bangladesh is the most vulnerable country on the globe to climate change--the most vulnerable large country to climate change. It is about the size of Iowa. It faces serious challenges with melting off the Himalayas as well as rising sea levels.
Due to climate change, right now Bangladesh is losing 1 percent of its arable land each year, and it is projected over the next decade or so--leading into 2030--to lose a large percentage of its land, displacing millions of Bangladeshis, literally creating climate refugees. The sea level rising is predicted to inundate about 15 percent of the land area and create refugees, making it a reality for them that is so urgent that they went there with a large degree of mission to join with other global actors.
I was proud to be able to sit with them and talk to them about New Jersey--not only a State that has 75,000 people who are Bangladeshis but also a State that knows that our economy and our strength as a State will be affected by climate change as well. We are already seeing what is happening with the warming of our oceans, the acidification of our oceans, how it is affecting the many jobs related to our fishing industry. We are already seeing the challenges with our climate in terms of increased weather activity and severe storms.
This is an issue that affects America that we cannot solve without joining with the rest of the globe. We know that the injustices that are happening to our Nation in terms of increased fires, in terms of despoliation of our seas, the challenges being faced with weather activity internally in our country--we know these issues cannot be solved locally unless we deal with them globally. That is why I am grateful for all of those who understand that American leadership is incredibly needed.
I am proud to stand here with colleagues of mine and continue to send a strong message to the rest of the globe that we are here in the United States strongly supporting the ambitious commitments of President Obama, the ones that he is making, and that we will defend those communities that are facing this crisis in the immediate and long term. We will be leaders.
One of my colleagues and someone whom I have come to respect quite a bit was an incredibly strong voice in Paris, someone who is committed to these issues not only in her home State but, as an American, across our country. I wish to now engage and acknowledge Senator Jeanne Shaheen.
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