Senator Carper Applauds Historic U.S.-China Announcement on Climate Change

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety, released the following statement today after President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping jointly announced new policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the United States and China: 

“President Obama and President Xi have set forth ambitious plans of action to mitigate the global impacts of climate change. Together, the United States and China produce more than one-third of the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions. The commitments laid out by both countries today are realistic goals we can achieve to meet the climate targets set out last year and reduce our global carbon footprint. Like President Obama, I see the effort to curb carbon emissions and climate change as a great opportunity for our economy, not a burden. And I firmly believe our economy will suffer if we fail to invest in clean energy while the rest of the world, including China, takes action.

“The significance of today’s announcement shows that the United States is not acting alone when it comes to addressing our greatest global environmental challenges. Since the Obama administration has retaken a leadership role in addressing climate change, the international community has followed – and we are quickly building a coalition of countries that are committed to real climate actions. I am hopeful that this historic agreement with China will continue to drive the international community toward a broader global agreement in Paris this year, so that we can finally turn the corner on this growing problem.”