Climate Action Now Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. PANETTA. Madam Chair, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Madam Chair, I rise to offer an amendment to H.R. 9, the Climate Action Now Act.

As we know and as we have been hearing all day, this bill that we are considering ensures that the United States honors our commitments detailed in the Paris Agreement and lays the groundwork for further action on climate change.

By including this amendment in this bill, it will then be crystal clear that it is the United States that has led and will continue to lead when it comes to influencing other nations to participate in the Paris Agreement.

Now, yes, I do admit that it was the leadership of the United States that got other nations of the world to come together and boldly declare our unified commitment to dealing with the growing climate crisis. We did that by explicitly committing ourselves to play a leadership role. We had to do that in order to attract other countries to join in the goal of limiting the temperature of our globe.

That is why the United States gave structural and directional leadership with ready greenhouse gas reduction targets and a vision for institutional design principles.

Moreover, in our efforts to entice other nations to be a part of the deal, the United States made recommendations for financing adaption, energy investment, and support for developing countries.

The U.S. then stepped up and led by example by announcing its intent to reduce carbon pollution by drastic levels, an act that underscored our role as a global leader on the issue of climate change.

It was that American ambition, that American action, that encouraged other nations around the world to set their sights and their standards higher and to be bolder on the most pressing issue that we face when it comes to climate change. As a result, we saw an unprecedented display of a global commitment to address that pressing issue.

That is why it is all the more disappointing that this administration announced its intention to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement, an act that would make the United States, the country that pushed us and others into this agreement, the only country to reject this agreement.

If the United States abdicates its leadership role here, it will not only cost us influence in this agreement, it will also invite other countries to walk away from combating the climate crisis.

As Todd Stern, the former U.S. special envoy for climate change, stated at a World Resources Institute conference on May 30, ``In the absence of the United States, you have a phenomenon of a fair number of countries . . . trying to pull back a little bit on some of the things that were agreed to, some of the compromises that were reached in Paris.''

Madam Chair, we cannot let this happen. That is why I seek to include my amendment to H.R. 9 to strengthen this important bill, to stop the administration from advancing the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement, and to reclaim our leadership role in combating climate change and protecting our planet.

Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source