World Environment Day

Floor Speech

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY -- (Extensions of Remarks - June 08, 2009)

* Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, I rise to commemorate World Environment Day, which is recognized every year on June 5th. World Environment Day was established by the United Nations in 1972 during the commencement of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. For the last 37 years, World Environment Day has been one of the ways that the United Nations has increased awareness in every country about our environment through its goals of giving a human face to environmental issues, empowering people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development, promoting an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues, and advocating partnership which will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future.

* This year, the theme for World Environment Day appropriately focuses on taking action to combat global warming. This year's anniversary comes as people from nations all around the globe are calling for action to move towards a clean energy future that will not only drive economic growth but also protect our planet. As the world readies for the United Nations Climate Change Conference this December in Copenhagen, this anniversary also serves as an important reminder of the need for global action as the international community prepares to come together to discuss the path forward.

* The scientific debate about whether humans are causing global warming is over. The reports issued in 2007 by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change underscored the clear need for all countries to take action to reduce global warming pollution. In Copenhagen, the United States and the international community must now turn to how to take action to address it.

* Last month, the United States took a major step forward when the House Energy and Commerce Committee reported out the American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) Act. This comprehensive energy legislation will unleash a clean energy revolution here in America that will create hundreds of thousands of jobs, strengthen our national security by reducing our dependence on foreign oil and stop global warming. This legislation will build upon the progress we have already made with the passage of the 2007 energy bill and the clean energy provisions included in the recovery package. With the leadership of President Obama and Speaker Pelosi, the United States is finally poised to head to Copenhagen as a leader rather than a laggard in taking action to transition to a clean energy future and reduce heat-trapping emissions.

* This U.N. event is an important reminder of our global needs and I want to bring it to the attention of all the Members.

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