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PARIS CLIMATE CHANGE TALKS
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I had the opportunity of heading a
delegation this past weekend of 10 Senators who went to Paris for the
COP21 talks, the climate change talks taking place in Paris. I was very
proud of our delegation consisting of Senator Whitehouse, Senator
Franken, Senator Markey, Senator Merkley, Senator Udall, Senator
Shaheen, Senator Coons, Senator Booker, and Senator Schatz. All of us
participated in the meetings that took place in Paris. We were
impressed that 150 leaders of the world were in Paris at one time to
show their support for a successful outcome on climate change and to
express their urgency for dealing with this issue. I think it was a
strong followup to the challenge Pope Francis gave all of us as to the
moral challenge of our time to protect our planet for future
generations.
At the meeting in Paris, we recognized that our global health is at
stake. Whether we are talking about our individual States--and I could
talk about the people on Smith Island, as their island is disappearing,
or the health of the Chesapeake Bay, and my colleagues in the western
part of this country could talk about the wildfires and what is
happening there. In Asia, we see climate migrants as a result of
climate change. In Greenland, we see the glaciers disappearing. Every
nation is at risk as a result of global climate change, and that is why
150 leaders went to Paris.
The objective is clear. We had a chance to talk to the Secretary
General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon. He made it clear that our
goal at a minimum should be to reduce the increase in warming by 2
degrees Celsius. That is doable. The scientists tell us we can do it.
And if we do, we will have a healthier planet, we will create more
jobs, and not only America but the world will be more secure.
It was clear that U.S. leadership was critically important to that
moment in Paris. President Obama, in getting China and other countries
to submit action plans, encouraged over 180 countries that are
participating in the Paris talks to submit their own action plans to
mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. That represents over 97 percent of
the world's emitters.
As I mentioned, we met with the Secretary General of the United
Nations, Ban Ki-moon. We all met with former Vice President Al Gore. I
think we all were inspired by his lifelong dedication to this issue. We
had a chance to meet with U.S. lead negotiator Todd Stern, who updated
us on what was happening.
We were particularly impressed with Secretary Moniz, our Secretary of
Energy. He had earlier announced, with other world energy leaders, an
innovation initiative showing how we can use U.S. technology to make it
easier for the world to meet their goals in reducing greenhouse gas
emissions and at the same time create more jobs in America. It was an
impressive display.
We had a chance to meet with local leaders. Mayor Bloomberg convened
a summit of mayors. I was proud that my mayor from Baltimore City,
Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, was there.
My colleagues participated in bilateral meetings of other countries
to encourage them to be aggressive in submitting their obligations and
how we could follow up and make sure we achieve our goals.
It was clear that Paris is heading toward a successful agreement, and
it will have U.S. support. We mentioned our commitment to carry not
just our individual commitment but to be part of the global agreements
in Paris.
We pointed out that in 1992, the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change was ratified by the U.S. Senate. This is the legal
basis for moving forward. We also pointed out that our obligations to
comply with our own commitments are controlled by the Clean Air Act,
which is the law of our country. We pointed out the actions taken by
the Obama administration. We also pointed out that 69 percent of
Americans agree that we should have a multilateral commitment to reduce
our carbon emissions.
It was clear to us that by working together, we can have a healthier
planet for our children and our grandchildren.
Mr. President, I yield the floor to Senator Udall, one of the great
leaders on the environment and a very active member of our delegation.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
Mr. UDALL. Mr. President, I wish to first say to Senator Cardin, who
led our delegation--Senator Cardin is the ranking member on the Foreign
Relations Committee. Foreign relations has a lot to do with this issue.
He showed great leadership, and I believe he is passionate about this
issue and finding solutions.
So we were somewhat disappointed, the 10 of us who went--all
Democrats--that Republicans didn't join us. This is an issue that needs
bipartisanship. We need to join--Republicans and Democrats--on an issue
that threatens our national security, threatens our economy, and
threatens our environment. It is an issue that is looming out there and
needs attention. So we look forward to working with our friends on the
other side of the aisle to move forward on this issue.
As I looked over there and saw what was happening, I remembered many
of the briefings we have had. Everyone who has looked at this challenge
of global warming and climate change says that we need to do two
things. First, we need to drive capital to new energy sources, to clean
energy sources. We need to innovate is what they are talking about. If
you get the capital there and you get the private sector working, you
can come up with the solutions. Secondly, we need to put a signal in
the marketplace to invest in clean energy and renewable energy.
I was so proud of what happened over there in terms of the world
joining together. More than 184 countries came together, and we are
going to see the conclusion of their action this week. They have
stepped forward and said: We are going to have targets, we are going to
have goals, and we are going to be transparent. We are going to let
people know we are moving in the direction of solutions and doing
something about this immense problem.
So it was a major step forward to see those 184 countries step up and
decide to do something.
In addition, Bill Gates led a group of entrepreneurs over to Paris to
announce and to challenge the world about energy research and
development. As everyone knows, Bill Gates is one of our great
entrepreneurs. He and his wife are also philanthropists. He stepped up
with 27 other billionaires to say: We are going to put billions into
research and development, and we are going to put it into
innovation. They called this project Mission Innovation, and they
challenged other countries around the world to do the same thing--
double their energy research and budget.
So seeing 184 countries step up to the plate and say ``We are going
to do this''--and I think we will see those announcements in the next
couple of days--and seeing these entrepreneurs step forward I think was
a signal--and a bold signal--to the marketplace that we are changing
and moving in a new
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direction and that we are going to get this done.
I am very proud of my State of New Mexico because we have all sorts
of energy--uranium, coal, oil, gas--and we have many renewable
sources--wind, biomass, solar, geothermal, but we have taken a strong
step in New Mexico to push for renewable resources. In our State
statutes, we pushed for a renewable electricity standard of 10 percent
by 2010. We met that early, so we put another standard in place of 20
percent by 2020.
We are really in the bull's-eye in terms of climate change in New
Mexico because of what we see and what we know happens in the
Southwest. The temperatures are twice as high. We have seen those
temperatures increase over the last 50 years. So we know there is a
crisis, we know there is an issue, we know we need to do something
about this, and we are very willing to step forward.
Mr. President, according to a study at Los Alamos National
Laboratory, by 2050--not far away--we may not have any forests left in
my State. It will be as if New Mexico were dragged 300 miles to the
south. Our climate will resemble land that is now in the middle of the
Chihuahuan desert.
Now, I am not a scientist. Neither are my colleagues. But the experts
at LANL--and scientists all over the world--are clear. If we do
nothing, global warming will only get worse.
The nations of the world know this. That is why over 190 nations are
in Paris: To meet the challenge of climate change, and to do it
together.
The Paris agreement will not solve the problem of global warming by
itself, but it is a major step forward. It is what we need to ensure
every country does its part, and does its fair share on climate change.
The largest emitters in the developing world--China and India--are
making serious commitments. They understand, they have to reduce their
reliance on fossil fuels.
This is about their economy, and it is about a commitment to future
generations.
Opponents of U.S. climate action have argued that other nations--
especially China--would never act to limit their emissions. Well, now
they are. This is encouraging--and something we need to encourage
further. That is what the world's scientists tell us. That is what our
own Department of Defense tells us. We can make progress now--or face
ever greater instability later.
More than 180 nations are on board with individual commitments. They
will take concrete steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This is
historic. This will slow global warming--and it must be done now, not
later. The world cannot afford to wait.
These nations see the threat. They see the mounting danger. A
representative from Bangladesh told me that in his country every day,
they face the threat of rising sea levels.
These countries came to Paris with a commitment to succeed.
And the work began before Paris--such as when the U.S. and China
announced major mitigation commitments last year.
Our task now is to keep up the momentum, to keep moving forward--both
at home and abroad. I believe there are two things we can do right now:
No. 1, work to drive capital to new energy efficient technologies. We
need to renew the Production Tax Credit for renewables. Tax incentives
have been in place for decades for oil and gas.
Wind, solar and biofuels need that investment as well.
No. 2, send a positive signal to the markets. That means keeping our
own climate goals on track, and stopping efforts that would turn back
progress. That means encouraging capital investment in sustainable
energy--not just in the U.S, but, throughout the world.
We are seeing a growing investment in new technologies with public
and private resources. Last week, 28 of the world's billionaires
committed to investing in energy research and innovation.
And we are seeing a major market signal that there is demand for
those technologies--here in the U.S. through the Clean Power Plan and
other measures, and across the globe, especially in developing
countries, that have demonstrated a commitment to grow their economies
in a cleaner, more sustainable way.
Now is the time for action. America must lead, because we cannot
ignore the danger--to our planet, to our economy, and to our security.
The science is clear, the threat is growing, and time is running out.
This is not news to people in my State. In New Mexico, temperatures
are rising 50 percent faster than the global average--not just this
year or last year, but for decades.
We have seen historic droughts. When it does rain we have seen
terrible flooding. And we have seen the worst wildfires in New Mexico's
history. What we have not seen--what we have waited for--is for
Congress to act.
It has not been for lack of trying. There have been many attempts--
including bipartisan ones. But each and every time Congress failed to
make it to the finish line, failed to pass comprehensive legislation--
in both Houses--to curb our greenhouse gas emissions.
Just this week, the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Science held a
hearing focused on whether climate change is real. This is settled
science. The world has moved on. The United States Congress should,
too.
So the President and the EPA have used their authority under the
Clean Air Act to lead. They have done what needs to be done, with the
support of many of us here in Congress--and of the American people.
The Clean Power Plan is reasonable, and it will make a difference to
restrict emissions from new and existing power plants.
Mr. President, I hope that going forward Congress will work on
solutions--rather than wasting time on Resolutions of Disapproval,
rather than wasting time on questioning science.
The American people do not want a science debate. They want action.
The world has come together in Paris. Nations are moving forward. The
very real question now is--how do we keep that going?
As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I will continue to fight
against dangerous environmental riders.
I am encouraged by the conference in Paris, and I am confident that
the United States will continue to lead--even if our Republican
colleagues continue to block.
With increased U.S. leadership over the last 5 years we have made
great international progress. The Paris conference is evidence of that.
Another sign of progress--the world's largest oil and gas companies
are supporting a climate agreement.
BP, Shell--and the massive state oil companies of Saudi Arabia and
Mexico--are among the ten major oil companies making commitments.
The United States can help lead this effort--not only at the
negotiating table in Paris, but on the front lines in New Mexico and
every other State.
Because in this great challenge, there is also great opportunity. Our
country can lead the world in a clean energy economy. We have the
technology, we have the resources. We need the commitment.
That means finding solutions, developing technology, and not denying
scientific reality; not wasting time on empty resolutions that come
from nowhere and go nowhere.
There are now more solar jobs in the United States than coal jobs.
My state has every kind of energy resource: Coal, oil, gas, uranium,
solar, wind, algae biofuel and more. We are doing all we can to
diversify--and reduce carbon emissions. A clean energy economy protects
our communities and creates jobs.
A renewable electricity standard--which I have long fought for--would
create 300,000 jobs. Most of these jobs are high-paying, they are
local, and they cannot be shipped overseas.
Support for renewable energy is strong. Nearly half of the U.S.
Senate supported my amendment in January for a Renewable Electricity
Standard that would mandate that 30 percent of our energy come from
renewable resources by 2030. Over half the States already have
renewable energy portfolios. Many of them are being met and exceeded.
In New Mexico, we are blessed with great natural resources and with
great human resources as well. Researchers at Sandia and Los Alamos
national
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labs are studying climate change--not with an agenda, but with a
commitment--to tackling the problem, with real science and with real
innovation.
Together, we can meet this challenge. We can find a path forward that
works. We can work with the global community. We can protect our
planet. But, America must lead and help drive progress across the
world.
Mr. President, 48 national security and foreign policy leaders--
Democrats and Republicans alike--have sounded the alarm. From Chuck
Hagel to William Cohen, from Madeleine Albright to George Schultz, in a
joint statement they urge us to fight climate change. They urge us to
``think past tomorrow.''
The Paris agreement is a starting point and a historic opening for a
global effort to address climate change. It is an opportunity, it is an
obligation, and it is something that history will show was the right
thing to do.
Mr. President, I see my colleagues have joined me on the floor.
Senator Schatz, Senator Shaheen, and Senator Cory Booker are down here,
and they have done excellent work. I yield at this time to Senator
Schatz. I would just say by the way of introduction that I am so
impressed with his State and the leadership in his State. Hawaii is
going to be a 100-percent renewable State in 2040. A lot of that is due
to his leadership and his legislature and Governor stepping up to the
plate.
With that, Senator Schatz.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Hawaii.
Mr. SCHATZ. Mr. President, I thank the senior Senator from New Mexico
for his longtime leadership on climate and conservation issues.
I have been working on this for a long time, as many of us on the
floor have been working on this for a long time, and I have not been so
hopeful in a very long time. I am reminded of the essential elements of
success when it comes to an international agreement, and that is
American leadership. We still remain the indispensable Nation, and we
finally reasserted ourselves and reclaimed the moral high ground and
the political high ground that put us in a position to stitch together
an international agreement.
One observation I will offer from the Paris climate talks is how
positive the response was. I think we anticipated that we were going to
have to do perhaps more troubleshooting, more allaying of concerns
about America's commitment to climate action than we ended up having to
do. That is because people understand that the President is committed,
and people understand that the Clean Power Plan is going forward, and
we are making progress and there is no turning back.
I will offer seven very quick observations about the Paris climate
talks. The first is this: It is already a success. If you had told any
knowledgeable observer that they were going to get 185 countries--
representing 97 percent of countries and 98 percent of emissions--and
150 heads of State in the same place at the same time--the most in
history--if you had said that 2 years ago, that would have sounded
wildly optimistic. We really are making progress.
No. 2, this is not going to require Senate approval. There have been
more than 18,000 such agreements that our President and Presidents in
the past have entered into over time not requiring Senate approval.
No. 3--and this is important and can't be overstated--it is not
enough. If we want to hit the 2-degree Celsius target, this only gets
us about 40 percent there. But 40 percent there is 40 percent there. We
were at zero 3 weeks ago. So I think getting 40 percent there is very
important.
I think the other thing we have learned from other states and other
countries and even in the private sector is that once you unleash the
power of clean energy on the private sector, there is no turning back.
So we anticipate being able to ratchet up these agreements every 3 to 5
years on an international basis.
No. 4, it is way more than expected and way more than ever before.
No. 5, I think we need to know that there are some pretty good
accountability and transparency mechanisms in there. This was a key
element of the negotiations that Secretary Kerry and the President
himself have insisted upon. We need to know--the United States has a
robust reporting mechanism. At the public utilities commission level,
at the regional level, we know exactly what our energy portfolio is.
That is a little bit more of a challenge in the developing world, so we
had to develop a matrix so we know that countries aren't cheating or
they are not getting their own data wrong. I feel satisfied that it is
likely to hit those marks.
No. 6, it is wildly popular in the United States. Two-thirds of
Americans support an international climate agreement. A bare majority
of Republicans, a decisive majority of young Republicans, and decisive
majorities of Democrats and Independents support international climate
action.
No. 7 is this: People are going to try to undo this. They are going
to do it through the Congressional Review Act. They are going to try to
do it through the appropriations process. They are going to try to do
it through the electoral process. That is the democratic process, and
that is OK. But there is no turning back either legislatively,
politically, or in terms of the momentum we have in the private sector.
I would like to introduce someone who has come at climate from a
different perspective, as he always does, who has become a leader on
these issues, and who was an incredible asset during the weekend we
were in Paris, and that is the junior Senator from New Jersey, Mr. Cory
Booker.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey.
Mr. BOOKER. 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
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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.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire.
Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I am pleased to be here on the floor
with my colleagues--those of us who went to Paris, led by Senator
Cardin, for this climate summit.
At the conference in Paris, more than 180 countries accounting for
over 90 percent of global emissions were there. They all submitted
their plans for how they are going to reduce emissions, with the goal
of keeping global warming below 2 degrees Centigrade by the end of this
century.
One of the things I was impressed with in Paris was that the
countries that were there represented everybody from China to the
Marshall Islands, and all of them understood that climate change is
real, that it is a threat to our planet, and that we have to do
something about it. They understand that because they have seen it.
They have seen it in their home countries. They have seen rising sea
levels, extreme weather events, environmental changes--all linked to
global warming.
Here in the United States, we see it too. According to a recent Pew
poll, two-thirds of all Americans recognize that climate change is real
and that action must be taken to address it. We see it in my home State
of New Hampshire, where we are seeing a change in our wildlife
population, a change in our snowpacks that affects our ski season, our
foliage season is affected, and it has an economic impact on our
State. But the exciting thing is--and we saw this very clearly in
Paris--that at the local level, mayors, Governors, local leaders around
the world understand that we have to take action to address it, and
they were there in Paris urging the negotiators to come to some sort of
an agreement.
In New Hampshire, we have taken action. With nine other Northeastern
States, we have been part of a regional cap-and-trade program called
the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. As a result of that and other
actions that we have taken, we are going to meet the goals of the Clean
Power Plan 10 years early.
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative has generated $1.6 billion in
net economic value. It has created more than 16,000 jobs across the
region. That is one of the benefits of the action we can take to
address climate change. As we all know here, it doesn't matter what we
do in New Hampshire. It doesn't matter what we do in this country.
Unless we get a global agreement in Paris so we are all going to move
forward together to address the harmful impacts of climate change, we
are going to see the continued sea level rise, the continued extreme
weather events, all of the continued negative impacts of that global
warming.
Finally, I want to say that for me one of the most exciting things
about meeting with people when we were in Paris was hearing that they
were cautiously optimistic that we will get an agreement, that we will
take action, and we will be able to make a difference for our planet
and for future generations.
I was pleased to have Senator Chris Coons from Delaware with us on
this trip. I know he is going to talk about what he observed when we
were in Paris.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.
Mr. COONS. Mr. President, I wish to express my gratitude to Senator
Cardin for leading this great delegation of 10 Senators to the Paris
Conference of Parties--the COP21, the global climate change conference
in Paris--and to Senator Shaheen of New Hampshire for her tireless
leadership on energy efficiency. The least expensive, most powerful way
we can reduce our energy consumption is by investing in new
technologies and new approaches that help create jobs and manufacturing
in the United States and reduce our total energy consumption and
footprint.
I think the Paris conference has already been a success from the
outset. As we heard directly from the head of the United Nations Ban
Ki-moon, 150 heads of state gathered at the very outset of that
conference, and 184 countries made voluntary national commitments to
reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, to reducing their carbon
footprint, and to working together to find sustainable solutions to
this very real challenge.
The other thing I found most encouraging about the many conversations
we had with governmental leaders, with advocates, with nonprofit
leaders was a commitment to bring together developed countries such as
the United States and European and Asian allies of ours and the
developing world--the very large countries such as India and China
which have become major emitters of greenhouse gases--to bring them all
together in one common agreement.
One other comment I wish to make that comes out of what we saw going
through an Innovation Fair that was hosted by Secretary Ernie Moniz of
our Department of Energy was that governments alone can't solve climate
change. Global conferences, such as the one we attended, are
important--they are critical--but making real and sustained impact on
fighting climate change is also going to require new and innovative
approaches, and that requires investment by the private sector and by
the Federal Government in clean energy and energy efficiency research
and development.
Commitments made in Paris, such as the announced new mission
innovation and the breakthrough energy coalition, which are public-
private partnerships to ramp up and accelerate our investment in
research and development are more important than ever.
We also had a chance to attend a meeting of some national leaders, of
mayors and county executives, of Governors, and folks who lead regions
and provinces around the world where remarkable progress has been made.
At the same time that we are moving forward through this global
conference as a group of nations, it is also important to recognize
what subnational groups have done.
Senator Shaheen referenced the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative,
which New Hampshire and my home State of Delaware participate in. It
has been a remarkable and effective way for a whole group of Mid-
Atlantic and Northeastern States to work together. The nine
participating States have reduced our emissions by nearly 20 percent
while also seeing stronger economic growth than the rest of the
country, I think, suggesting it is possible for us to both reduce our
greenhouse gas emissions and continue to grow a strong economy.
In fact, my home State of Delaware has reduced its GHG emissions more
than any other State in the last 6 years. That is partly due to the
great leadership of my Governor, Jack Markell, and partly due to the
deployment of a lot of new solar systems and a lot of investment in
energy efficiency.
If I might, let me mention one important piece of bipartisan
legislation that I think is part of solving this challenge of how do we
achieve an ``all of the above'' energy future that has sustained long-
term investments in clean energy and energy efficiency research and
deployment; that is, the Master Limited Partnerships Parity Act. This
is a very bipartisan bill that has long
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had the support of Republican Senators Murkowski, Moran, Collins, and
Gardner. Even Congressman Ted Poe, of Houston, TX, who represents a
great deal of oil and gas in his district, is an advocate for this
bill. I have been leading it, along with Senator Stabenow, Senator
Bennet, Senator King, and others in this Chamber. It is an important
way that we can allow master limited partnerships, long available to
the oil and gas industry, to be opened up to all forms of energy to
make it a level playing field and to provide opportunities going
forward to finance renewable energy products and energy efficiency
projects. This small tweak to our Tax Code could make a cumulative big
difference going forward.
In conclusion, let me renew my point that government alone can't
solve climate change, but it has a central role to play in bringing
together the people who can. Let's pass the MLP Parity Act, and let's
make long-term, sustained investments in Federal R Let's bring
together public, private, and nonprofit leaders because there is no
limit to what we can accomplish when our brightest scientific minds,
business leaders, and our diplomats working for us in Paris come
together to lay out a positive, sustained goal.
I wish to yield the floor to my colleague, the junior Senator from
the State of Rhode Island, who has been a tremendous and tireless
champion for conservation and in particular for our oceans, which are
such a vital part of our climate future.
I yield the floor to Mr. Whitehouse of Rhode Island.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.
Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, one of the features of our trip to
Paris was the presence of America's corporate leaders there urging us
on. We not only met with significant corporate leaders like people from
Citigroup, PG, VF Industries, and others, but they were cheering us
on publicly in advertisements like this one taken out by the food and
beverage industry, calling on a strong Paris climate agreement. The
companies who signed this include Mars--if you like M, you like
Mars--General Mills, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, Hershey and Nestle,
Kellogg, Unilever, and others.
The food and beverage industry was joined by an advertisement from
some of America's apparel leaders: VF Corporation, based in North
Carolina, which produces North Face, Timberland, and a whole variety of
other very well-known and popular brands--Adidas, the shoe
manufacturer; Levis, if you know jeans you know Levis; Gap, which has
stores all over the country; and others from the apparel industry.
Perhaps the biggest advertisement that the American business community
took out was this one: Companies like not only Johnson & Johnson, the
bandaid people, but Johnson Controls, Colgate-Palmolive, Owens Corning,
Procter & Gamble, Dupont, and utilities like National Grid and PG So
corporate America made a very strong statement in support of a strong
Paris climate deal.
The last one I will show is this one, which was taken out by
America's financial leaders--Bank of America, Citi, Goldman Sachs,
JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo. There was a strong,
powerful message from America's corporate leadership that I very much
hope our colleagues on the other side will begin to listen to; that
Paris is a good thing, a strong agreement is a good thing, and we need
to make progress together.
With that, I will turn over the floor to my terrific colleague
Senator Merkley from Oregon.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.
Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, a huge thanks to my colleagues who have
been presenting so many important dimensions of this battle against a
major threat to the health of our planet. Indeed, Henry David Thoreau
asked, ``What's the use of a fine house if you haven't got a tolerable
planet to put it on?'' That was an excellent question decades ago but
an even more important one today, when we have a significant threat
that endangers our forests, our farming, our fishing, and human
civilization on this planet. This is the challenge of our generation,
to bring human civilization together to address carbon pollution and
its impacts.
While in Paris something very exciting was going on--150 world
leaders came together to kick off the final negotiations. That is
unprecedented in human history. Why were so many leaders there? They
were there because they are seeing the impacts in their own individual
nations that are coming from the rising temperatures. They came
together not just with their voice but with their pledges. In fact,
more than 180 countries put forward pledges about how they were going
to reduce the trajectory of their carbon pollution footprints. They
know what is at stake.
We certainly know in Oregon what is at stake. We see the pine beetle
devastating forests, creating a red zone of dying trees. We see the
longer forest fire season having a big impact, with more intense blazes
and more of them over more months. We see the impact of the loss of
snowpack in the Cascades impacting our streams and impacting the water
supply for agriculture. The Klamath Basin, along with California, is
locked into a deep drought with devastating consequences. We see it
over on our coast, where the more acidic Pacific Ocean is creating
problems for our shellfish industry because the baby oysters have
trouble making their shells. How is this connected? Because the carbon
pollution in the air is absorbed into the ocean via waves and creates
carbonic acid, and that more acidic water is eroding the ability of our
shellfish to operate as they have for a millennium in making shells.
We know this is not just something in Oregon, not just something in
Maryland, and not just something in this State or that State but
worldwide, where 2014 was the warmest year on record. In fact, 14 of
the 15 warmest years on record have happened in this century. Now we
see 2015 on the trajectory, and it is going to be warmer than 2014.
There is nothing disputable about the facts: rising carbon dioxide
and methane pollution, rising consequences for our States across
America, rising consequences for the world. Scientists tell us it will
get worse. We have only had a 0.9-degree centigrade increase. If we get
to 2 degrees, it is catastrophic. It is pretty bad now. We must come
together as an international community and address that.
In Paris we know we need to have a more ambitious agenda than the one
we have laid out, even with these wonderful pledges, and we need to
come back every 5 years and keep driving the process forward. We know
we have to lower the costs for renewable energy so we can come back
together and increase the pace at which we pivot from a fossil fuel
energy economy to a renewable energy economy.
We know we need to invest in solar deployment, and there is the
International Solar Initiative that India is going to host a
secretariat for and work to deploy a trillion dollars in solar panels.
We know innovation matters, and mission innovation with the United
States and other nations doubling their investment over the next 5
years will do a lot more to lower costs and increase the efficiency of
technologies in clean power and clean power storage.
Well, it is a big challenge, and I am so delighted to be able to be
part of a community of legislators. One of those legislators who has
led on this in the House for decades, brought his expertise to the
Senate, is my colleague from Massachusetts Senator Markey.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.
Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Oregon for his
leadership, bringing the message of the harm being done to our natural
world, I thank Senator Cardin for taking this delegation of 10 Members
to Paris, and I thank the Senator for having this session on the floor.
We are at an inflection point. We are at a point where the danger to
the planet is clear.
Mr. President, 2014 was the warmest year ever recorded. This past
November was the warmest November ever recorded. October was the
warmest October ever recorded. There is now a warming of our planet
that is intensifying dangerously, and we have to act in order to avoid
the most catastrophic consequences, and that is what is happening in
Paris right now. The United States is leading the way. The rest of the
world is coming together, and we have a chance to have a very good
agreement.
We are going to have the President's back because the 1992 treaty,
under
[[Page S8581]]
which he is negotiating, was ratified by this body. The Clean Air Act
that he is operating under was passed by this body. The clean power
rules and increase in fuel economy standards----
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent for an additional
1 minute to speak.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, this afternoon--and I think it will
continue over the next week--the Republicans and the American petroleum
industry are going to try to lift the ban on the exportation of
American oil, which could lead to more drilling for millions of barrels
of oil on our soil, while at the same time not giving a simultaneous,
equal extension of wind and solar tax breaks so that we can continue
this revolution that we are bragging about in Paris right now to the
rest of the world. These two things do not go together.
You cannot simultaneously drill for more oil that is not drilled for
today and then have an ending of the wind and solar tax breaks as they
are kicking in. You cannot preach temperance from a barstool. You
cannot preach temperance as you are putting up new oil rigs and
simultaneously say that the wind and solar tax breaks are going to end
and end soon. We have to have both if there is going to be a deal, and
right now that is in question in this Chamber. It is important for the
American people to know that answer because in Paris they are waiting
for this answer. There are 190 nations that want to know that we are
actually going to do what we are saying we are going to do in this
agreement that we are trying to reach--the most important agreement for
this century in terms of the well-being of the planet.
I thank the Presiding Officer for allowing me that courtesy, and I
thank the Senator from Utah for his forbearance.
I yield back the remainder of my time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
