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Thank you, Todd. Thank you very much. Thank you. (Applause.) Well, I’m
delighted to welcome all of you to the State Department for this very
consequential meeting. As I look around the table, I think I have met in
bilateral forums with all of the countries here, if not in multilateral forums,
over the last nearly 100 days. And at each and every one of those meetings,
global warming, climate change, clean energy, a low-carbon future has been part
of our discussions. And I’m very pleased to welcome the personal representatives
of 17 major economies, the United Nations, and observer nations to this first
preparatory meeting of the major economies on energy and climate.
I think it’s significant that this discussion is taking place here at the
State Department, because the crisis of climate change exists at the nexus of
diplomacy, national security and development. It is an environmental issue, a
health issue, an economic issue, an energy issue, and a security issue. It is a
threat that is global in scope, but also local and national in impact. I’m
delighted that our Special Envoy for Climate Change, Todd Stern, will be working
with you, as will Mike Froman, who sits at that nexus in the White House between
the National Security Council and the National Economic Council.
You know the details or you would not be here. There is much going on in
the world today that challenges us, and it is remarkable that each of your
nations has committed to this because we know that climate change threatens
lives and livelihoods. Desertification and rising sea levels generate increased
competition for food, water and resources. But we also have seen increasingly
the dangers that these transpose to the stability of societies and governments.
We see how this can breed conflict, unrest and forced migration. So no issue we
face today has broader long-term consequences or greater potential to alter the
world for future generations.
So this morning, I would like to underscore four main points. First, the
science is unambiguous and the logic that flows from it is inescapable. Climate
change is a clear and present danger to our world that demands immediate
attention. Second, the United States is fully engaged and ready to lead and
determined to make up for lost time, both at home and abroad. The President and
his entire Administration are committed to addressing this issue and we will
act.
Third, the economies represented here today have a special responsibility
to pull together and work toward a successful outcome of the UN climate
negotiations later in the year in Copenhagen, and I’m delighted that Denmark
could join us because they are going to host this very important meeting. And
the Major Economies Forum provides a vehicle to help us get prepared to be
successful at that meeting.
And fourth, all of us participating today must cooperate in developing
meaningful proposals to move the process forward. New policy and new
technologies are needed to resolve this crisis, and they won’t materialize by
themselves. They will happen because we will set forth an action plan in
individual countries, in regions, and globally. It took a lot of work by a lot
of people to create the problem of climate change over the last centuries. And
it will take our very best efforts to counter it.
First, I want for the American audience principally, but also for
international audiences, to underscore what I said here just a few weeks ago
when we had the meeting of the Antarctic consultative group. Some of the
countries were represented here. The science is conclusive. The evidence and
impact is getting more dramatic every year. Facts on the ground are outstripping
worst-case scenario models that were developed only a few years ago. Ice sheets
are shrinking. Sea levels are rising. Oceans are becoming more acidic,
threatening coral and other life forms. So the imperative is clear. We are
called to act, and future generations will judge us as to whether we do or
not.
Second, the United States is no longer absent without leave. President
Obama and I and our Administration are making climate change a central focus of
our foreign policy. We are, as Todd has often said, back in the game. We don’t
doubt the urgency or the magnitude of the problem. This forum is not intended to
divert attention from working towards solutions, but to assist us in creating
those solutions. And we are moving quickly. On April 17th, in a decisive break
with past policy, our Environmental Protection Agency announced its finding,
that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions threaten public health
and welfare. This move will open the door for more robust tailpipe emission
regulations. |
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发表于 2016-7-11 09:34:18