WASHINGTON (March 30, 2014) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), the chair of the U.S. Senate Climate Change Clearinghouse and Chairman of the Foreign Relations subcommittee with jurisdiction over global climate and energy issues, today released the following statement regarding the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s updated report on climate impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Senator Markey is the co-author of the only comprehensive climate change bill to pass a chamber of Congress.

“This report is about the realities and responses of climate change, but what it really tells us is that we have a responsibility to act decisively and quickly to avoid catastrophic impacts in the future.

“This report is a frightening compendium of coming catastrophe for the planet. If we do nothing, we will have an increasingly ice-free Arctic and a world full of food and water shortages, with deadly consequences for humans and animals everywhere.

“In my home state of Massachusetts, we’ll see dramatic sea-level rise and stronger storms that flood homes and businesses, massive changes in our ocean ecosystem that harms our fishing industry, and dangerous heat waves will put our seniors and young kids at risk.

“Climate change already adds to the environmental, development, and security challenges in many parts of the world and will make it harder to overcome them in the future.

“While we have tools to manage the climate impacts we are facing today, it is imperative we reduce carbon pollution to avoid catastrophic impacts in the future.

 

“The longer we take to respond, the bigger the challenges and the more expensive the solutions. We must take action now to invest in climate-smart infrastructure and clean energy solutions that will create jobs even as it reduces pollution and the impacts of climate change.”