Pallone Raises Concerns over Trump Positions on Climate Change

Washington, DC - Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) went to the House Floor to express concerns over President-elect Trump’s positions on climate change.

Mr. Speaker, according to his transition team, the President-elect’s Administration will withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement and “scrap” the Clean Power Plan because, they claim, it will increase energy bills “without any measurable effect on Earth’s climate.”

This is dangerous, short sighted, and completely inaccurate. The United States took an important leadership role in making the Paris agreement happen and should continue to lead international efforts to combat climate change. The Clean Power Plan is an essential part of the U.S. keeping its end of the bargain.

If the President-elect’s Administration follows through on its plans to abandon our commitments, the United States and the world will continue to suffer from increasing sea level rise, more frequent and intense natural disasters like Superstorm Sandy, and longer periods of drought, as well as other effects. What it won’t do is save coal country jobs –something that the top Senate Republican pretty much admitted last week.

As President Obama said, the President-elect’s Administration should carry on the “tradition” of honoring our international agreements, and I urge him and his team to continue the efforts begun by President Obama to stop climate change before it is too late.

Thank you.

President Obama's Weekly Address 8/13/16: Providing a Better, Cleaner, Safer Future for Our Children

WASHINGTON, DC — In this week's address, President Obama discussed the progress we have made to combat global climate change. During the Obama Administration, we have made ambitious investments in clean energy and achieved reductions in carbon emissions – increasing wind power and solar power, and decreasing the amount of carbon pollution from our energy sector to its lowest level in 25 years. We have also set standards to increase the distance cars and light trucks can travel on a gallon of gas every year through 2025. The President noted that although America has become a global leader in the fight against climate change, there's still work to do. Together, we must continue to work domestically and build upon the progress we've made along with other countries – such as the Paris Agreement, the most ambitious climate change agreement in history. President Obama said if we continue to work together, we will leave a better, cleaner, safer future for our children.

President Obama Announces Climate Agreement

President Obama addressed the nation on the global agreement to combat climate change that was just reached in the Paris climate talks, December 12, 2015.

The Paris Agreement establishes a long term, durable global framework to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. For the first time, all countries commit to putting forward successive and ambitious, nationally determined climate targets and reporting on their progress towards them using a rigorous, standardized process of review.

Learn everything you need to know about how the agreement will work here.