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Mr. President, there is a desperate need for the Senate to address one of the greatest national security and public health risks we face as a country, something that has the ability to affect up to 3.4 percent, or $260 billion, of U.S. economic output annually. What is this threat? It is climate change.
In its 2010 and 2014 Quadrennial Defense Reviews, the Department of Defense identified climate change as a risk that must be incorporated into the Nation's future defense planning. Last year, I held a hearing on this issue as chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.
Pentagon experts explained the far-ranging effects of this threat ..... putting the U.S. at risk around the world ..... changing the landscape and vegetation of training areas ..... accelerating regional tensions and conflict. This summer, the Department issued a new report outlining in even greater detail the threats we face. It states, ``The Department of Defense sees climate change as a present security threat, not strictly a long-term risk.'' It goes on to say that climate change is introducing ``shocks and stressors'' in the Artic, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and South America.
The report argues that global warming has had ``measurable impacts'' on vulnerable areas and regional conflicts, like Syria. Due to these impacts, military leaders are now forced to include ways to respond to the risks and challenges of climate change in their planning.
So if our Nation's senior military leaders are doing their part to address climate change, isn't it about time that we did the same? Well, we can start by supporting the Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to limit carbon pollution from power plants--which account for over 40 percent of U.S. carbon pollution emissions. The rules would cut carbon pollution from power plants by over 30 percent and reduce emissions of the pollutants that cause soot and smog by 25 percent. That is equivalent to removing over 160 million cars from the road--or almost two-thirds of U.S. passenger vehicles.
The rules will also drive new investment in clean energy generation and energy efficiency technologies while growing the economy, shrinking household electricity bills, and putting the U.S. on a pathway to lead the world in creating new clean energy jobs. In addition, EPA's rules would lead to climate and health benefits worth up to $54 billion annually, including avoiding 3,600 premature deaths; 90,000 asthma attacks in children; and up to 3,400 heart attacks and hospital visits. This is a win-win for America.
The State of Illinois has already started taking steps to reduce its emissions by adopting laws that promote the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Our ``community choice aggregation'' law allows Illinoisans to choose their energy providers. Since the program was started, more than 90 communities have chosen to use 100 percent renewable electricity sources for their residential power.
Illinois's Renewable Portfolio Standard requiring the State to use 25 percent renewable electricity resources by 2025 is one of the strongest in the country.
And State law also requires utilities to reduce Illinois's energy demand by 2 percent each year through efficiency improvements.
With the support of these laws, Illinois now employs approximately 100,000 people in the clean energy industry--and meeting EPA's new targets would put even more Illinoisans to work designing, manufacturing, and installing clean energy systems. Most importantly, EPA's rules will allow the U.S. to face the challenge of climate change head on instead of ignoring the problem until it is too late.
Leading scientists warn that the world is running out of time to make the cuts in carbon emissions that are needed to prevent irreversible damage to the Earth's climate. According to the United Nations's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, at least half the world's energy supply needs to come from low-carbon sources such as wind, solar, and nuclear by 2050 if we are going to avoid catastrophic climate changes. That gives us just 35 years to save the planet for future generations.
This may seem like a long time, but we have a lot to do. We need to start now, and EPA's rules are a great first step.
But I know some of my colleagues are opposed to the EPA's plan and anything this administration does to acknowledge the existence of climate change. So they have introduced two resolutions of disapproval to prevent EPA from listening to over 97 percent of climate scientists and acting to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. If the resolutions were to become law, they would prohibit EPA from proposing any new regulations that are ``substantially the same'' as their current rules for new and existing power plants.
But even supporters of these resolutions have to admit that we have a responsibility to be good stewards of our planet.
So I have to ask, if you don't like what the President is doing, what is your plan to make sure we leave future generations with a brighter, cleaner future? How do you propose we address the threat of climate change? And what is your plan to make sure that America leads the world in creating the well-paying, green jobs of the future? Denying the harmful effects of greenhouse gas emissions, as these resolutions do, is shortsighted and declares war on science and on public health. So I hope my colleagues will vote ``no'' on the resolutions of disapproval from Senator McConnell and Senator Capito.
The evidence is clear: we need to get serious about addressing the causes and effects of climate change. America has the resources and the inventiveness to create a new energy system that can protect our environment and economy and allow us to continue to choose our own destiny. But we can only do it by focusing on policies that address both the economic and environmental challenges facing the country by supporting critical, sustainable infrastructure. And we need to do it soon--our generation has a moral obligation to leave the world in as good of shape as what we inherited from our parents and grandparents.
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