Today, U.S. Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52) reflected on the third anniversary of participants reaching the Paris Climate Agreement:

“Three years ago, the United States joined an ambitious global vision to combat the worst effects of climate change. Unfortunately, President Trump ceded America’s global leadership by withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement last year, abandoning our allies and ceding future jobs, opportunities, and innovation in renewable energy to other nations—especially China.

“President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the agreement is still morally wrong and monumentally stupid. Other nations are discussing full implementation of the agreement and scientific reports continue to find we have limited time to make unprecedented changes and avoid extreme weather, rising sea levels, and ocean acidification.

“Last year, I attended a global climate conference convened at the Vatican with Governor Brown and Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s Dr. Veerabhadran Ramanathan, where I urged the Catholic Church, and all faith leaders, to use their influence to convince lawmakers, like President Trump, there is an urgent need to act on climate. Clearly, we still have work to do, but I’m thankful House Democrats can make climate change a priority in the next session of Congress.”

Rep. Peters, a former environmental lawyer and Environmental Protection Agency economist, was a featured speaker at the Vatican conference on climate last year and part of a Congressional Delegation selected to attend the Paris negotiations in 2015. He serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee, and is a member of the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus and the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition.