[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 84 (Monday, June 8, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1339]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                         WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. EDWARD J. MARKEY

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, June 8, 2009

  Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, I rise to commemorate 
World Environment Day, which is recognized every year on June 5th. 
World Environment Day was established by the United Nations in 1972 
during the commencement of the Stockholm Conference on the Human 
Environment. For the last 37 years, World Environment Day has been one 
of the ways that the United Nations has increased awareness in every 
country about our environment through its goals of giving a human face 
to environmental issues, empowering people to become active agents of 
sustainable and equitable development, promoting an understanding that 
communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental 
issues, and advocating partnership which will ensure all nations and 
peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future.
  This year, the theme for World Environment Day appropriately focuses 
on taking action to combat global warming. This year's anniversary 
comes as people from nations all around the globe are calling for 
action to move towards a clean energy future that will not only drive 
economic growth but also protect our planet. As the world readies for 
the United Nations Climate Change Conference this December in 
Copenhagen, this anniversary also serves as an important reminder of 
the need for global action as the international community prepares to 
come together to discuss the path forward.
  The scientific debate about whether humans are causing global warming 
is over. The reports issued in 2007 by the United Nations 
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change underscored the clear need 
for all countries to take action to reduce global warming pollution. In 
Copenhagen, the United States and the international community must now 
turn to how to take action to address it.
  Last month, the United States took a major step forward when the 
House Energy and Commerce Committee reported out the American Clean 
Energy and Security (ACES) Act. This comprehensive energy legislation 
will unleash a clean energy revolution here in America that will create 
hundreds of thousands of jobs, strengthen our national security by 
reducing our dependence on foreign oil and stop global warming. This 
legislation will build upon the progress we have already made with the 
passage of the 2007 energy bill and the clean energy provisions 
included in the recovery package. With the leadership of President 
Obama and Speaker Pelosi, the United States is finally poised to head 
to Copenhagen as a leader rather than a laggard in taking action to 
transition to a clean energy future and reduce heat-trapping emissions.
  This U.N. event is an important reminder of our global needs and I 
want to bring it to the attention of all the Members.

                          ____________________