Chris Coons: “I come to the floor today to talk about climate change--to talk about something that is a pressing and real problem that…”

“I come to the floor today to talk about climate change--to talk about something that is a pressing and real problem that affects everyone in this country, and, in fact, in our world. It is a challenge that we can't afford to ignore any longer because the health of our families, our economy, our environment, and even our national security, quite literally, depend on our ability to address it and address it promptly. After a year of recordbreaking extreme weather in 2018--when we saw rising average temperatures fuel California's deadliest wildfire season on record, when Florida was faced with the strongest hurricane ever to reach that State's panhandle, and when farmers in Delaware and across the country faced challenges due to severe flooding and drought--it is clear that we can't afford to sit back and do nothing about climate change while the American people pay the price. The costs of our inaction are real--real in human suffering, real in disaster recovery spending, real in lost economic opportunity, and real in the burden borne by our Armed Forces around the world. Yes, there is a clear link between climate change and national security. The Pentagon has consistently pointed to climate change as a real national security threat that will make the military's job around the world harder.…”