Lowey Statement on President Trump's Reported Decision to Withdraw from Paris Climate Accords

Statement

Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey (D-Rockland/Westchester), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, today released the following statement on reports that President Trump will withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Accords:

"I strongly condemn President Trump's reported decision to pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Accords, which would fundamentally undermine American global leadership and endanger the future of our planet.

"Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle, scientists, business leaders, and the vast majority of Americans agree: man-made climate change is real, and it poses an existential threat to our planet that must be confronted quickly and seriously. Signed by 195 nations, the Paris Climate Accords are critical to ensuring a unified, global response to combating rising carbon dioxide levels that erode our national security, risk flooding our coastal cities, exacerbate famine and water shortages, and increase the destructive scale of natural disasters. In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, New Yorkers understand that the threats posed by increasingly powerful storms are not abstract scientific warnings, but rather catastrophic events that can cripple the economy, destroy the livelihoods of entire families, and put lives at risk.

"We have a moral responsibility to safeguard our planet and ensure our children and grandchildren inherit a clean, healthy future. Any alternative is unacceptable. As Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, I will continue leading the fight for federal investments in renewable energy technology that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect our water and air."

Source