Kathy Castor

Grasslands and shrublands, native grasses and shrubs have long, deep roots that sequester a lot of carbon.

I am delighted that in the 2 years since my colleagues across the aisle are now opposed to Vladimir Putin.

To create ecosystems more resilient to climate change including drought and other stressors, it is essential to partner with Tribal Nations.

Natural solutions that sequester carbon should also be central to any plan to achieve net-zero emissions.

We have made great progress on natural climate solutions, especially resilience.

Coasts and marines also huge opportunities for resilience in carbon abatement.

The average acre of wetlands can hold more than 1 million gallons of water.

Healthy forests are less likely to burn uncontrollably.

Now when we think about natural climate solutions, we are talking about a few types of key systems.

Last year alone we had twenty climate-fueled disasters that caused at least $1 billion in damages.

When you consider that really the only emission reduction strategy that also provides resilience benefits that can cost-effectively save lives, it even becomes more absurd that we don't focus on it more.

Thank you, Rep Bonamici.

Taking these actions has broad support. Last year, we voted to require companies to regularly find and repair methane leaks.

Fortunately, there are cost-effective ways to dramatically reduce methane pollution from the oil and natural gas sector, which remains the largest industrial methane source in the United States.

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas and is responsible for about 30% of global warming in the modern era.

I'm excited to recognize our two distinguished guests for this important hearing so we can learn from them: Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, of New Mexico, and Governor Mark Gordon, of Wyoming.

We need robust Federal rules to find and repair leaks from both new and existing sources, including marginal wells, and we need to end routine venting and flaring, which wastes energy and harms the public health.

But there is so much more to be done--and quickly--as the costly impacts of the climate crisis continue to grow and the window to act to avoid the worst impacts is rapidly closing.

I wanted to simply highlight some of the benefits that we have learned from holding remote hearings.

We shouldn't have to make that difficult choice to choose between our families and our obligations to our constituents.

The Gulf Coast Region faces a particular challenge in reducing greenhouse gas emissions because of its disproportionate role in oil and gas production.

There is also indication, as evidenced by current events, that this would increase political stability.

Global economic development to foster greater equity and sustainability across countries could be made possible by a rapid transition to a system that is based maximizing energy efficiency and generating power through distributed renewable…

Climate mitigation and adaptation are actions that we must take because the physical world is requiring it due to our historic greenhouse gas emissions.

I look forward to the next committee hearing very much.