Food & Water Watch Response to National Climate Assessment Release

Statement by Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director, Food & Water Watch

Washington, D.C. – “Today, Volume II of the Fourth National Climate Assessment was released, delivering yet another pressing message on the urgency of climate change and its impacts on a broad range of issues. It reveals some of the environmental, economic and public health devastation in store, particularly for the most vulnerable Americans, if we don’t rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The report also acknowledges that future risks from climate change depend on the actions we take today. The big takeaway is that it’s not too late, but we can’t wait any longer to take climate action.

“Federal government scientists are doing their job to study and relay the impacts of climate change, but Trump is trying to slip this climate chaos report past Americans. While his own federal agencies are painting a dire picture of the scale of our impacts on the environment, water, agriculture, and infrastructure, Trump is doubling down on climate denialism.

“The decision to release this damning report when families are beginning to celebrate the holidays and newsrooms are short staffed is a brazen attempt to bury the truth from the public that we must act now to move off fossil fuels and stabilize the climate. Releasing this report when no one is looking, tweeting his annual nonsense about global warming and cold weather, and announcing that he’ll use the upcoming UN climate meetings as a fossil fuel tradeshow, Trump is doubling down on his climate denial for the holidays – as many families are still reeling from unnatural climate disasters across the country.

“The science is way past in on climate change. We know the extent to which it will disrupt our earth’s systems and have civilization-altering impacts everywhere. What’s missing is climate action. This report is the latest reminder that serious policy makers around the country must seize the moment by enacting policies to rapidly transition off fossil fuels and build a clean energy future. Climate change is spawning more extreme weather, causing irreparable harm to communities, costing billions of dollars a year, and leading to countless deaths. We can stop climate destruction, but only if we act quickly to end the use of fossil fuels and transition to 100% clean renewable energy.

“We must prepare for our climate future in spite of Trump. Luckily, there is a legislative solution for federal climate action: The Off Fossil Fuels for a Better Future Act. The backbone for what must be part of any Green New Deal exists in this legislation, which mandates a transition to 100 percent renewable energy in electricity and transit by 2035, with 80 percent of that shift happening within ten years.

“This transition is not only possible, but necessary for the health and prosperity of people and the planet.”

Food & Water Watch champions healthy food and clean water for all. We stand up to corporations that put profits before people, and advocate for a democracy that improves people’s lives and protects our environment.

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Contact: Darcey Rakestraw, 202-683-2467; [email protected]