President Obama told dignitaries and diplomats in Paris that they must reach a historic climate change deal during the United Nations climate change conference.
“We are the first generation to feel the impact of climate change, and the last generation that can do something about it,” he said.
Speaking at the kick-off event of the summit, Obama said that the United States is committed to working with other countries to reduce climate-change-causing greenhouse gas emissions around the world.
“I’ve come here personally, as the leader of the world’s largest economy and the second largest emitter, to say that the United States of American not only recognizes our role in creating this problem, we embrace our responsibility to do something about it,” Obama said.
He mentioned the progress the U.S. has made toward reducing its carbon emissions, such as the use of low-emission power like wind and solar. He also referenced two of his most controversial climate-related decisions – the rejection of the Keystone XL Pipeline this month and the implementation of sweeping climate rules for power plants – as proof of his work on the matter.
“We’ve said ‘no’ to infrastructure that would pull high-carbon fossil fuels from the ground, and we’ve said ‘yes’ to the first-ever set of national standards limiting the amount of carbon pollution our power plants can release into the sky,” he said.
“We are the first generation to feel the impact of climate change, and the last generation that can do something about it,” he said.
Speaking at the kick-off event of the summit, Obama said that the United States is committed to working with other countries to reduce climate-change-causing greenhouse gas emissions around the world.
“I’ve come here personally, as the leader of the world’s largest economy and the second largest emitter, to say that the United States of American not only recognizes our role in creating this problem, we embrace our responsibility to do something about it,” Obama said.
He mentioned the progress the U.S. has made toward reducing its carbon emissions, such as the use of low-emission power like wind and solar. He also referenced two of his most controversial climate-related decisions – the rejection of the Keystone XL Pipeline this month and the implementation of sweeping climate rules for power plants – as proof of his work on the matter.
“We’ve said ‘no’ to infrastructure that would pull high-carbon fossil fuels from the ground, and we’ve said ‘yes’ to the first-ever set of national standards limiting the amount of carbon pollution our power plants can release into the sky,” he said.