Sheldon Whitehouse: “this is, I think, my 295th ``Time to Wake Up'' speech, with my increasingly battered graphic, which the Smithsonian has…”

“this is, I think, my 295th ``Time to Wake Up'' speech, with my increasingly battered graphic, which the Smithsonian has asked for as the most used graphic in Senate history, but I wouldn't let them have it until we solve the problem, so it just gets increasingly dented. But what I want to talk about now is the trip that I just took with Senator Markey to the COP, the Conference of the Parties, the COP 29 in Azerbaijan, where Senator Markey and I heard a similar message from almost everyone there: The transition to clean energy is happening and will continue to happen no matter who occupies the White House. China's auto market will achieve a milestone this year with electric and hybrid vehicles half of all vehicles sold. China is also installing record amounts of wind, solar, and nuclear. Europe is rapidly and irreversibly weaning itself off fossil fuels, with greenhouse gas emissions projected to fall by 8 percent this year--enormous progress. In Australia, one-third of homes have rooftop solar, and they are growing dramatically. More than 40 percent of Australia's electricity comes from renewables, headed for 80 percent by 2030. So while America's energy policy has been sold out to Trump's fossil fuel donors, the world will go on, leaving America more and more behind. Nor does Trump being for sale mean that there won't be leadership on climate change coming from the United States.…”