Senator Carper calls for climate change action on the floor of the Senate

Delaware’s Senior U.S. Senator Tom Carper is calling for action in the Senate over climate change, citing sea level rise and the dangers he and others say it poses to the coastline of the country.

Earlier this week, Senator Carper introduced the Clean Economy Act with 33 of his Senate colleagues, legislation that would jumpstart government-wide climate action and move the country to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by no later than 2050.

Senator Carper took to the floor of the Senate to present the legislation where he spoke of the dangers of climate change.

“The world’s leading scientists have told us that, to avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change, we need to limit global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. Period,” Senator Carper explained. “To do that, we — all of us here on this planet — need to collectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by mid-century. But time is running out.”

Last month was the hottest January in the history of the planet and the last five years were the hottest five years on Earth, Senator Carper emphasized to his colleagues on the floor of the Senate.

“The world watched in horror as millions of acres of trees burned in Australia’s recent bushfires, killing one billion animals,” Senator Carper said. “Rising sea levels, flooding, and other extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and destructive.”

The Clean Economy Act empowers the Environmental Protection Agency to use tools already at its disposal to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by no later than mid-century.

Senator Carper vowed to continue to encourage his colleagues to support the legislation over the course of the coming weeks.