Political Quotes

“I had the opportunity of heading a delegation this past weekend of 10 Senators who went to Paris for the COP21 talks, the climate change talks taking place in Paris. I was very proud of our delegation consisting of Senator Whitehouse, Senator Franken, Senator Markey, Senator Merkley, Senator Udall, Senator Shaheen, Senator Coons, Senator Booker, and Senator Schatz. All of us participated in the meetings that took place in Paris. We were impressed that 150 leaders of the world were in Paris at one time to show their support for a successful outcome on climate change and to express their urgency for dealing with this issue. I think it was a strong followup to the challenge Pope Francis gave all of us as to the moral challenge of our time to protect our planet for future generations. At the meeting in Paris, we recognized that our global health is at stake. Whether we are talking about our individual States--and I could talk about the people on Smith Island, as their island is disappearing, or the health of the Chesapeake Bay, and my colleagues in the western part of this country could talk about the wildfires and what is happening there. In Asia, we see climate migrants as a result of climate change. In Greenland, we see the glaciers disappearing. Every nation is at risk as a result of global climate change, and that is why 150 leaders went to Paris. The objective is clear. We had a chance to talk to the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon.…”