WASHINGTON, D.C. – Chairman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) convened a hearing of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Environment entitled, “Preparing for Climate Change: Adaptation Policies and Programs.”
Opening Statement of Chairman Ed Markey
As Prepared for Delivery on March 25, 2009
“Preparing for Climate Change: Adaptation Programs and Policies”
Before the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment
This hearing will come to order.
Nearly 20 years ago, Congress passed the Global Change Research Program Act of 1990, which required the preparation of a “National Assessment of the Consequences of Climate Variability and Change.” This assessment was designed to help us understand the impacts of climate change in the United States.
A distinguished panel of experts completed that assessment in 2000. One of the lead authors, Dr. Tom Karl, is with us here today.
On the front cover of the report were these prophetic words: “Humanity’s influence on the global climate will grow in the coming century. Increasingly there will be significant climate-related changes that will affect each one of us. We must begin now to consider our responses, as the actions taken today will affect the quality of life for us and for future generations.”
In the decade since that report was completed, global warming has not waited. It has accelerated. Climate change is occurring as we speak and the greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere will continue to warm the planet for decades.
If the United States and the world are going to successfully combat climate change, mitigation—the act of reducing greenhouse gas emissions—will not be enough. Our country and other nations must also implement adaptation policies to respond to changes in our climate, in our ecosystems and in our infrastructure.
The many changes predicted in the National Assessment are already happening and they are happening faster than expected.
An updated 2008 Assessment and the 2007 Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change documented many of these changes. According to the UN panel:
“North America has experienced locally severe economic damage, plus substantial ecosystem, social and cultural disruption from recent weather-related extremes, including hurricanes, other severe storms, floods, droughts, heat waves and wildfires.”
Whether it’s the eroding coastal areas of Louisiana, Texas, or the Atlantic states, the floods in the Midwest, hurricanes in Florida, wildfires in California, or the loss of snowpack in the Pacific Northwest, I’m sure that every Member of the Subcommittee has their own story of how a changing climate has affected their areaNorth America is not the only continent facing adaptation challenges. Internationally, low-lying island states like the Maldives could literally “go under” as sea level rises. As a result, the President of the Maldives is considering purchasing land to prevent his population from becoming, I quote, “climate refugees living in tents for decades.”
In Africa, the UN panel projected that by 2020, 250-750 million people will be exposed to increased water stress due to climate change and that yields from rain- fed agriculture could be reduced by up to 50 percent-- severely compromising food production.
This in turn could lead to significant national security issues for the United States. The UN panel has also noted that if warming continues unabated, 30-40 percent of all the species on the planet will be at risk of extinction.
In the climate change bill I introduced last year, I included provisions for a National Climate Service.
A National Climate Service would create a central source of federal information on climate change ranging from projections of additional sea level rise to mapping the nation’s best sites for solar and wind-power.
This information will be vital in the years ahead and will reap tremendous long-term dividends. I look forward to hearing NOAA discuss their plans to implement this much-needed program.
Adaptation alone cannot solve climate change. We can and must also take actions to reduce emissions.
Yet as we enter the warming world that we have now created for ourselves, we must recognize that we as humans have worldwide responsibilities for all of God’s creatures, both human and animal, many of whom have little or no ability to adapt to climate change on their own.
They will need our help and we should be prepared to provide it as best we can.
I hope that will be our goal as we craft our ongoing adaptation policies. I look forward to hearing the witnesses’ testimony.
