For Real? Senate Republicans Reject Notion That Human-Caused Climate Change Is Real
Statement of David Arkush, Managing Director, Public Citizen’s Climate Program
Note: Today, 49 U.S. Senate Republicans formally rejected the existence of human-caused climate change by voting against an amendment from U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii). Key provisions of the amendment state, “it is the sense of Congress that— (1) climate change is real; and (2) human activity significantly contributes to climate change.”
It is stunning that so many senators refuse to admit the basic facts about this grave threat to humanity.
Ninety-seven percent of relevant scientific papers have concluded that human activity is causing global warming. Opponents of solving the climate crisis like U.S. Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) are engaging in a bizarre charade: hiding behind the excuse that they are not scientists while refusing to defer to an overwhelming scientific consensus.
In truth, climate change is a moral problem, not a factual one. As the president stated last night in his State of the Union speech, “No challenge poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change.”
It is deeply immoral for elected officials not to respond to this challenge.
The American people – and our future children and grandchildren – need leaders who will foster a transition to renewable energy as quickly as possible. That shift will save thousands of American lives, create tens of thousands of jobs and save billions, if not trillions, of dollars. It also may be necessary to preserve human civilization.