[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 155 (Tuesday, September 18, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6210-S6211]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             CLIMATE CHANGE

  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, as I rise for my 220th ``Time to Wake 
Up'' climate speech, there is abundant evidence that meaningful action 
on climate change in the United States is unlikely. We have a President 
who, against all the evidence, claims that climate change is a Chinese 
hoax. This is the same President who announced last year that he was 
pulling the United States out of the international Paris Agreement.
  This is the same President who installed the theatrically corrupt 
Scott Pruitt, who owed his entire political career to the fossil fuel 
industry, to lead, of all things, the Environmental Protection Agency. 
When Pruitt's endless string of scandals finally proved too much even 
for this epically swampy administration, President Trump then made a 
coal industry lobbyist the Acting EPA Administrator.
  The fundamentally rotten bargain at the heart of today's Trump 
politics is that his party is essentially bankrolled by the fossil fuel 
industry. This is why you see Republicans seeking to freeze voluntary 
fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars. If 
consumers pay more at the pump to fill up, fine--what matters is that 
the oil companies get to keep pumping.
  This is why the Republican Clean Power Plan doesn't really reduce 
carbon emissions. In fact, the EPA's own numbers show that the 
replacement plan will result in poorer health for Americans, including 
1,400 additional deaths a year, but what matters is that the coal 
companies sell coal.
  Republicans even plan to weaken standards on methane leaks. It 
doesn't matter that methane is an extremely potent greenhouse gas. What 
matters is that the oil and gas industry doesn't have to spend any 
money to prevent those leaks.
  So there is lots of evidence that meaningful action on climate change 
in this country is unlikely. Yet on Friday I attended the Global 
Climate Action Summit, organized by California Governor Brown, to keep 
up progress reducing carbon emissions and fighting the effects of 
climate change.
  At the summit, States, cities, Provinces, and companies from around 
the world--indeed, foreign nations--made new announcements about 
climate change and to reduce carbon emissions. Governor Brown himself 
signed a law requiring 100 percent of California's electricity to be 
carbon-free by 2045 and committed that California would be carbon-
neutral by the same year. Plus, there is that satellite to measure 
carbon emissions.
  New Jersey announced plans to install more than 3,000 megawatts of 
offshore wind.
  States and cities in India announced plans for thousands of electric 
buses,

[[Page S6211]]

cool roofs, and solar-equipped public buildings.
  IKEA, the furniture store, announced that all of its delivery 
services will be zero emissions by 2025.
  That is just a small sample of the new commitments--evidence of the 
determination of Governors, mayors, CEOs, investors, and NGOs to combat 
climate change despite the failure of Republican leadership in 
Washington.
  But if we are to have any hope of keeping global warming under 2 
degrees Celsius--or better yet, 1.5 degrees--we are going to need 
leadership here. We are going to need a Federal price on carbon. That 
is why last week's announcement from the Climate Leadership Council was 
so important. The CLC has been working with former Republican 
Secretaries of State George Shultz and James Baker and former Treasury 
Secretary Hank Paulson for a $40-per-ton carbon fee and return all of 
the money raised by that carbon fee to American families in the form of 
a dividend. This plan shares a lot of similarities with the American 
Opportunity Carbon Fee Act, which I introduced with Senator Schatz of 
Hawaii. The CLC plan is supported by many corporations, business 
leaders, and former Republican officials.
  Last week, the CLC announced that its $40-per-ton carbon fee would 
result in emissions reductions substantially better than our present 
national targets. The CLC also found that 56 percent of Americans--
including majorities of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans--
support it. Seventy-one percent of millennials support a carbon fee, 
which shows that carbon pricing is coming. The only question is how 
soon. Americans intuitively understand that it makes sense to impose a 
fee on something we want less of, whether it is carbon emissions or 
cigarettes. When the revenues from those fees are returned to the 
American people, it is better still.
  Last week's climate summit featured a discussion on carbon pricing 
organized by the business community. The fossil fuel industry and its 
array of front groups will, of course, attack any effort to put a price 
on carbon emissions. So having companies like Gap, Exelon, Pacific Gas 
and Electric, and Steelcase speak out in favor of carbon pricing was a 
good start. When the business community shows broad-based support for 
carbon pricing, it will be very difficult to argue that it is bad for 
business, but let's remember that the fossil fuel companies bring heavy 
artillery to this fight.

  Washington State has a carbon fee ballot initiative right now, which 
has provoked Big Oil to spend $20 million to defeat that initiative, 
including companies that claim they support a carbon price. Among the 
donors are BP, Phillips 66, and others that have contributed over $3 
million each to oppose the carbon price initiative. So against that Big 
Oil blowback, it would sure be nice if Washington State's corporate 
leaders stood up on this.
  Starbucks, after all, has a whole web page about climate change and 
has committed to purchasing 100 percent renewable energy. Amazon has a 
web page on its efforts to reduce its carbon footprint, and it, too, is 
aiming to go to 100 percent renewable.
  Jeff Bezos, one of the world's richest people, is investing in clean 
energy, along with another corporate icon of Washington State, 
Microsoft's Bill Gates. In fact, Microsoft is hard at work reducing 
carbon emissions in its operations. It even has an internal carbon 
price to encourage reductions in carbon pollution.
  Boeing has a web page cataloging its efforts to combat climate change 
by making its airplanes more efficient.
  So where are they when it comes to their own home State's plan to 
actually do something about climate change? As we have seen so often 
here in Washington, DC, as well, it is radio silence. The interesting 
thing is that Big Oil is actually tiny compared to Microsoft, Amazon, 
Starbucks, Boeing, and the rest of the tech companies, Wall Street 
banks, insurance companies, consumer goods companies, retailers, and 
food and beverage companies that all claim to care about climate 
change--tiny.
  The difference is that Big Oil shows up. It shows up here in 
Congress. It funds its armada of front groups and trade associations 
and phony think tanks to steer Republicans here in Congress away from 
anything limiting carbon pollution, just like it is showing up right 
now in Washington State to kill an initiative that would limit carbon 
pollution.
  Here is the problem: The good guys aren't showing up. They don't show 
up here in Congress, and they are letting Big Oil outgun them even in 
Washington State. In my experience, if you don't show up to the game, 
you don't win. It is as simple as that.
  That is the message I took to last week's summit. I truly appreciate 
business leaders who talk about the dangers of climate change and the 
value of carbon pricing. I truly appreciate business leaders who work 
on reducing carbon emissions within their corporate footprint. But it 
also matters what you do in the public arena. Show up to fight for the 
policy you already espouse. Show up here in Congress and in Washington 
State. Challenge Big Oil rather than forfeit the game before it even 
begins. This is a fight. There are hydraulics in politics. If no one 
pushes back, the only team on the field will win.
  Well, we can't keep having the fossil fuel industry win this fight 
because we will all be losers in their win. We have to win, but to do 
that, we will need companies talking a good game to actually show up on 
game day.
  It is not just time to wake up. It is time to show up.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alabama.
  (The remarks of Mr. Jones pertaining to the introduction of S. 3467 
are printed in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills 
and Joint Resolutions.'')
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Hoeven). The Senator from Alaska.

                          ____________________