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WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI) voted for a bill that ensures the United States honors our commitments to the Paris Agreement and combat climate change. Dingell is an original cosponsor of H.R. 9, the Climate Action Now Act and a leader in Congress on environmental conservation and slowing down the impacts of changing climate.

“The time is now – not tomorrow, not next year – to address climate change. The Paris Agreement takes real steps to slow down our changing climate and ensures the United States stays a leader in addressing one of our most critical global threats,” said Dingell. “This is about supporting efforts to halt the effects of climate change and protecting the planet for future generations – it’s that simple. This is something we can all agree on. Hurricanes, fires, floods, including ones we’ve seen in Michigan this week are evidence of the necessity of action now.”  

The United States joined the Paris Agreement in April of 2016 under the Obama Administration. As a world-wide commitment, the Paris Agreement established a framework to reduce global greenhouse emissions and created reporting structures for all countries to document their progress to drive down global emissions. In August of 2017 the Trump Administration announced their plan to withdraw from the agreement. 

The Climate Action Now Act would prohibit federal funds from being used by the Administration to advance action of withdrawal from the Paris agreement. The legislation also calls on the president to create and make public a plan for how the United States will meet our commitment to reduce pollution. Despite efforts of the Administration to withdraw from the agreement, the United States remains obligated to uphold our commitment to slow down the effects of changing climate.

The Climate Action Now Act passed the Energy and Commerce Committee last month.

Dingell, a co-chair of the Great Lakes Task Force, is a leader in Congress on protecting the environment and taking steps to combat climate change. This Congress, Dingell has led legislation that would promote investment in research and development of electric vehicles. Dingell has also led legislation that would provide increased funding for endangered species and establish a grant program to promote climate literacy for students and educations.

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