Ed Markey — Senator Markey Speaks about CRA

and on Veterans Day it's important that we thank America's veterans and their families for their service to our nation Veterans Day is a time to honor all those brave men and women who put themselves in harm's way so that we may enjoy the tremendous freedoms and personal liberties that make our nation the greatest in the world such bravery deserves our unending food we have an obligation to honor them all year round by fighting to ensure that they have the resources the support and the protections which they have earned and now we need to fight for them when we send our men and women in uniform abroad we can be confident that they will do their utmost to complete their missions our mission as senators is to minimize the need to send our armed service members into harm's way the root causes of overseas conflict are complex and diverse from religious divisions to natural resource allocations to democratic yearnings and increasingly in the modern era climate change is straining the strands of stability until they snap when I was chairman of the House Select Committee on energy independence and global warming I held a 2007 hearing where one United States general told the story of Somalia drought in Somalia had caused a famine how that famine had ultimately then led to and encouraged to conflict and so the pattern there in Somalia is the same pattern which we see in other countries droughts leading to famine leaving two fights between different tribes of peoples that otherwise had no reason to fight aid came in from the United States warlord started to fight over it and that's how 18 US service people lost their lives and what we now call black hawk down in 2010 terrible droughts in Russia and China and floods in Pakistan decimated wheat harvests and created a global shortage the price of wheat increased dramatically the Middle East home to the world's top nine wheat importers felt it severely especially since the region's farmers struggled with their own parched fields much of Syria was gripped with the worst drought it had ever experienced the price of bread skyrocketed across the region and demands for regime change were not far behind as we look around the world we can see hear and feel how climate change is a threat multiplier and a catalyst for conflict today while we have to deal with the consequences of climate change that are already apparent there is still time to prevent future catastrophes that's why President Obama has been using the tool he has in the clean air act to reduce carbon pollution he's used it to increase the fuel efficiency of America's cars and trucks and now he has released the clean power plan but Republicans want to undo it with the Congressional review Act starting next Monday in this chamber Senate Republicans can bring the resolution to the Senate floor at any time to dismantle the clean power plan and undoing it would be bad for our economy bad for our health and bad for our national security 2014 was the hottest year in global history as records go back all the way to 1880 the one here the first half of this year is now the hottest January to June in that same record the clean power plan captures the scientific urgency and the economic opportunity necessary to avoid the worst consequences of climate change the clean power plan provides flexibility to the states to find the solutions to reducing carbon pollution that works best for their situations unleashing a clean energy revolution in every single state in the Union it will create jobs and save consumers billions on their electricity bills it will avert almost 800,000 asthma attacks and prevent thousands of premature deaths the climate and health benefits of the rule are estimated to save 30 for 254 billion dollars per year by the year twenty thirty using the clean air act to reduce carbon pollution is grounded in the Supreme Court's 2007 decision that confirmed the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to regulate carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases as pollutants under the Act the Supreme Court has reaffirmed that authority in two subsequent cases and we have used that authority to set carbon pollution standards for vehicles these standards along with increasing the fuel economy of our nation's cars and trucks are reducing pollution saving drivers money and sparking innovation we will see similar benefits coming from the clean power plan now some of my colleagues in the Senate say it can't be done some will say it will raise electricity bills some will say it will kill jobs the problem is their claims are just not true the clean power plan is a plan to create jobs and to grow our economy it is a signal to the marketplace to invest in clean energy in wind in solar and other renewable energy resources that's the 21st century too many people out here on the Senate floor keep looking at the future in a rear view mirror they keep looking backwards instead of ahead unleashing the technologies of the 21st century the green generation the young people in our country they know we can do this they know that renewables are the technologies of the 21st century and if we do it it will be a signal to the rest of the world that the United States is going to lead the effort to reduce greenhouse gases while unleashing a job-creating renewable energy revolution not just for our own country but for the entire planet just two months ago in September Congress had the honor of hearing from Pope Francis who shared his message of action he told us that the American people can do it he said I call for a courageous and responsible efforts to redirect our steps in to avert the most serious effects of the environmental deterioration caused by human activity I am convinced that we can make a difference and I have no doubt that the United States and this Congress have an important role to play now is the time for courageous actions and strategy he is right the Pope is right this is the time from Congress not denial not obstructionism now is the time for the United States for this United States Senate to be the leader in finding the global solutions to this threat of dangerous climate change so what the Pope did was to take the message of Christ and did not deliver a sermon on the mount he delivered a sermon on the hill a sermon on the hill to the members of the House and the Senate to do everything they can do to reduce dangerous greenhouse gases and in saying that to us he said it as someone who taught high school chemistry it's someone who knows this issue a pope who taught chemistry the Pope did not believe that science is at odds with religion the Pope believes that science and technology is the answer to our prayers and he called upon us to unleash a technological revolution to reduce these dangerous green house gases now why do we know that we can do this it is a moral imperative the Pope basically said three things he said number one that the planet is dangerously warming and that the science confirms that he said secondly that human activity is largely contributing to that warming of the planet and that the science confirms that and third since human beings are causing this problem they have a moral responsibility I'm moral imperative something about it we are the United States of America we are the global leader in technology we are the revolution and so let's just see how far we have come in a very brief period of time in 2005 the United States installed 79 megawatts of solar in the United States solar technology had been around for generations Einstein actually won his nobel prize for breakthroughs in solar research Einstein but yet this is where we were in 2005 a little teeny-tiny 79 megawatts was all that we were able to install but then we began to change policies in the United States we began to have states across the country 30 states which said we're going to have more renewable electricity in our state's we put some tax breaks on the books and look what's happened in that very brief period of time by 2014 nearly seven thousand megawatts of solar installed in one year up from 79 a hundred times more solar after not doing anything for generations policies were put on the books all the deniers all those doubters all of a sudden everything that they said about how solar wasn't practical solar couldn't solve the problem they were confronted with this reality this year it's going to be nearly eight thousand megawatts that are installed next year twelve thousand megawatts of solar we're going to have forty thousand megawatts of solar in the next year in the United States 40,000 we were doing 79 totaled in 2005 that's how rapidly its changing that's how many new jobs are being created in America and the same thing is happening in wind wind it's going to be producing 20,000 new megawatts in just twenty fifteen and twenty sixteen so here's the good news you want to hear the big number it's incredibly great 300,000 jobs in the wind and solar sector by the end of next year 300,000 people working there will only be 65 thousand coal miners will have 300,000 people in America with these incredible jobs in wind and solar that's a revolution that wasn't on the books just ten years ago all the experts said can't happen what work will never be successful and so this these revolutions other things that we have to continue to be the leaders to ensure that we put on the books and keep on the books so that we are successful and so there's a technological imperative that we leave is an economic imperative that we lead because these jobs get created and there's a moral responsibility that the United States has because we were the leading polluter for a hundred years on the planet China has now caught up to us but a lot of that co2 is red white and blue may I have one additional minute mr.

president without objection I thank you I thank you and so here's where we are the president is going to use all of his legal authority to reach a deal in Paris pursuant to the united nations framework convention on climate change that was signed by president george herbert walker bush and ratified by the Senate in 1992 so everything he's doing in Paris is completely pursuant to a treaty that was agreed to by this body he is doing the clean power plan to reduce greenhouse gases by thirty percent by the year twenty thirty in the electric utility sector by the clean the Clean Air Act of 1990 Allah passed by the Senate he increased the fuel economy standards to 50 4.5 miles per gallon by the year twenty twenty-five still the largest reduction of greenhouse gases in the world's history pursuant to a law passed here in 2007 by the United States Senate underlying it all is an authority given to him by the Supreme Court in 2007 in Massachusetts versus the EPA that mandated that the EPA had to act if they found that there was an endangerment of the environment all of this is legal all of it is authority the president is using and all of it is working to create a new era of clean energy jobs all across our country so that we are no longer preaching temperance from a bar stool to the rest of the world we can now say to China into India you too must put your reductions on the books I thank you mr.

president for giving me this opportunity to speak on the floor and when I yield back the balance of my time