Neguse on UN climate change findings: ‘IPCC report … an alarm bell’

Human-caused climate change due to the burning of coal, oil and gas has already irreversibly warmed the world, according to a new scientific report by the United Nations, making extreme weather events such as more intense wildfires, floods, storms and drought inevitable.

However, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change also insists it’s not too late to head off the worst effects of climate change by starting to urgently reduce carbon dioxide and methane emissions across the globe.

Colorado U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, who represents Vail and eastern Eagle County as part of the state’s 2^nd Congressional District, responded to the report issued Monday with the following statement:

“The Time to Act Is Now”: Congressman Neguse Responds to IPCC Report

Washington, D.C. — Today, Congressman Joe Neguse, Chair of the U.S. House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, issued the following statement responding to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released today. The report outlines how climate change is increasing fire weather, with drier, hotter, and longer fire seasons, fueling heat waves, amplifying drought, supercharging tropical cyclones, increasing extreme rainfall and driving coastal flooding. 

“The worsening and catastrophic impacts of climate change are harming our communities. In Colorado, we are witnessing this through record-setting megafires, the largest in our state’s history, unprecedented flash flooding, intense drought, and just last week some of the worst air quality in the Western Hemisphere,” said Congressman Joe Neguse. “The IPCC report released today is an alarm bell. We must act with urgency and boldness to address the climate crisis and save our communities. The actions we take in the next decade will determine what type of world we leave for our future, and we must work to ensure it is not one ravaged by natural disasters and deteriorating air quality. We must meet this moment by enacting a 21st Century Climate Conservation Corps—as we’ve proposed—to restore our lands and invest in community resiliency and we must pursue provisions of the Green New Deal to dramatically reduce fossil-fuel emissions and make historic investments in clean energy. There is a very narrow and rapidly-closing window to avoid catastrophic outcomes. Responding to this crisis is a generational moment, and we must have the political will to meet it.”