    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book I)]
    [June 14, 1993]
    [Pages 844-846]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on the President's Council on Sustainable Development
    June 14, 1993

        Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for being here.
    It has been a year since the Earth summit in Rio. I think you might be
    interested to know that a year ago at the Earth summit in Rio I placed a
    call to Senator Al Gore of Tennessee to get a report on the goings-on
    there from him and from Senator Wirth of Colorado and to begin the
    process by which we came together as a team. Not very long after that I
    asked Al Gore to join the Democratic ticket, and the rest was history.
        I don't want to make any bones about it. When we had our first very
    long meeting, one thing that then-Senator Gore said was that he wanted
    to be part of a ticket that, if elected, could put the environment back
    on the front burner in American public life and do it in a way that
    would be good for the economy, not bad for the economy, do it in a way
    that would bring the American people together, not divide them. All the
    policy positions that the Vice President just announced that we have
    taken to change the direction of the previous administrations and, more
    importantly, to go beyond politics to embrace a new philosophy of
    uniting our goals of preserving the environment

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    and promoting economic growth would have been very difficult to achieve
    had it not been for his leadership and constant involvement and
    faithfulness to this cause. And the American people owe him a great debt
    of gratitude.
        I would also like to acknowledge the presence of one other person in
    this audience who has not been introduced and is not up here, but it
    will become obvious when I say what I want to say. The Deputy Secretary
    of Education, Madeleine Kunin is here. She is formerly the Governor of
    Vermont. And as far as I know, she was the only Governor in the country
    that actually had a sustainable development commission actively
    operating on the problems of the people of Vermont when she was the
    Governor. And she in many ways blazed a trail for what we are attempting
    to do today. And I thank you for that.
        A year ago the United States was in Rio fighting the Global Warming
    Treaty and the Biodiversity Treaty. Our leading economic competitors
    were at the Earth summit signing off on the Global Warming Treaty,
    signing off on the Biodiversity Treaty. And while the United States was
    fighting to water it down, change it, or thwart it, they spent all their
    time selling environmental technology to other nations in the world,
    making money while we made hot air.
        What a difference a year can make. This morning the Vice President
    made us all proud in his opening address before the United Nations
    Commission on Sustainable Development. America is now doing what we
    ought to do. We're leading again, leading the nations of the world in
    the pursuit of a great purpose.
        This afternoon I am announcing the creation of the President's
    Council on Sustainable Development to help set policies to grow the
    economy and preserve the environment for our children and our children's
    children, bringing together some of the most innovative people from
    business, from government, from the environmental movement, the civil
    rights movement, and the labor movement, people who bring a wealth of
    experience and accomplishment to this mission, people who have developed
    environmentally sound products, found ways to protect our air and water,
    and defended communities all across the country against pollution and
    health hazards.
        In the past, many might not have ever had the chance to sit down at
    the table and work together. But now they are working together. These
    men and women have real experience in the real world, and I am counting
    on them to achieve real results. I am asking them to find new ways to
    combine economic growth and environmental protection, to promote our
    best interests in the world community, to bring our people together to
    meet the needs of the present without jeopardizing the future. I am
    asking the Council to be guided by three principles that form our
    environmental policies.
        First, we believe a healthy economy and a healthy environment go
    hand-in-hand. Environmental problems result not from robust growth but
    from reckless growth. And we can grow the economy by making our people
    healthier, our communities more attractive, and our products and our
    services more environmentally conscious.
        Second, America must lead the way in promoting economic growth and
    environmental preservation at home and abroad. We live in an era of
    global economics, global environmentalism, global epidemics. Our lives
    and our livelihoods depend upon people throughout the world being
    healthy and prosperous and respectful of the planet we all share. What
    is good for the world in this sense is very good for America.
        And third, we must move beyond the false choices and unnecessary
    antagonisms of the past. From American business and American labor to
    the world's wealthiest nations and the world's poorest, we all share a
    common interest in economic growth that preserves rather than pollutes
    our environment. America can set an example by achieving economic growth
    that can continue through the lifetimes of our children and
    grandchildren because it respects the resources that make that growth
    possible.
        That is what we mean by sustainable development. That is why I'm
    asking this Council to promote healthy communities and environmentally
    sound products and services that will do the best in the world to make
    our marketplace the best in the world now and well into the 21st
    century.
        When we talk about environmental justice, we mean calling a halt to
    the poisoning and the pollution of our poorest communities, from our
    rural areas to our inner cities. We don't have a person to waste, and
    pollution clearly wastes human lives and natural resources. When our
    children's lives are no longer cut short by toxic dumps, when their
    minds are no longer damaged by lead paint poisoning, we will stop

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    wasting the energy and the intelligence that could build a stronger and
    a more prosperous America.
        When we talk about environmentally sound products and services, we
    mean light bulbs and computers and refrigerators that use less energy
    and automobiles that produce less pollution. People all across the world
    want to buy these goods and services, and when we make them in America,
    that means better paying and more secure jobs and higher living
    standards for all of our people.
        Americans take pride in our know-how, our can-do spirit, and our
    love of this remarkable land that God has given us. With leaders like
    the men and women here today, we can put what is best about America to
    work building a stronger economy and preserving this planet for our
    children and all generations to come.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 4:35 p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
    House. The Executive order of June 29 which established the Council is
    listed in Appendix D at the end of this volume.