    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book II)]
    [October 6, 1997]
    [Pages 1293-1296]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Opening Remarks at the White House Conference on Climate Change
    October 6, 1997

        Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Vice President, for your remarks
    and your remarkable leadership to help us keep our Earth in the balance.
    Thank you, Father O'Donovan, for letting me come home to Georgetown one
    more time to discuss a matter of immense importance to America and its
    future. I thank the Members of Congress and the members of the Cabinet
    and the administration who are here, all those who have agreed to serve
    on the panels, and all you who have come to be part of this important
    day.
        Six years ago last Friday--I can hardly believe it, but it was 6
    years ago last Friday that I announced my intention to run for
    President, challenging America to embrace and to vigorously pursue a
    vision of our country for the 21st century: to make the American dream
    alive for every person responsible to work for it, to keep our country
    the world's strongest force for peace and freedom and prosperity, to
    bring our people together across all the lines that divide us into one
    America.
        Shortly afterward I came here to Georgetown to this great hall to
    outline specific strategies and new policies to achieve that vision,
    rooted in our values of opportunity and responsibility, faith and family
    and community, designed to help Americans seize the opportunities and
    solve the problems of this new age. It was clear to me that our new
    direction had to be rooted in some basic guideposts, that we had to be
    oriented toward the future, not the past; toward change, not the status
    quo; toward partnership, not division; toward giving all a chance, not
    just the few; and finally toward making sure America leads, not follows.

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        We tried to develop a new approach to Government, where we didn't
    claim to do everything and we wouldn't tolerate doing nothing but
    instead we focused on giving people the tools to make the most of their
    own lives and creating the conditions that would allow them to succeed.
        And we had new policies, the economic policies and trade policies,
    education policy, crime and welfare, policies toward the working poor,
    policies to bolster families and help them balance work and
    childrearing, policies in health care and foreign policy, and yes,
    policies in the environment.
        In the last 4 years and 8 months, I think it's fair to say that,
    together, we have made real progress toward that vision for the 21st
    century. We stand at the threshold of that century stronger than most
    people thought was possible back in 1991, with our economy thriving, our
    social fabric mending, our leadership in the world strong. We have a
    solid foundation of achievement on which to stand as we take on the
    remaining challenges to build that bridge to the 21st century.
        We are back here at Georgetown today because global climate change
    clearly is one of the most important of those challenges and also one of
    the most complex, crossing the disciplines of environmental science,
    economics, technology, business, politics, international development,
    and global diplomacy, affecting how we and all others on this planet
    will live, support our families, grow our food, produce our energy, and
    realize our dreams in the new century.
        That's why we've put together this White House Conference on Climate
    Change, bringing together experts and leaders with a wide range of
    knowledge and a wide range of views. People of good will bring to this
    conference many honest disagreements about the nature of the threat we
    face and how we should respond. That is healthy in a democracy like
    ours. My hope is that we will take advantage of this forum to actually
    talk with each other rather than past each other. For it is our
    responsibility to work together to achieve two vital and compatible
    goals, ensuring the continued vitality of our planet and expanding
    economic growth and opportunity for our people.
        Despite the complexities of these challenges, we have good reason to
    be optimistic, beginning with our 220-year record of making all manner
    of difficult problems solvable and, importantly, a very good record in
    the last generation of environmental progress. For in the last
    generation alone, we came together to heed Rachel Carson's warnings and
    banned DDT and other poisons. We cleaned up rivers so filthy they were
    catching on fire, phased out lead in gasoline and chemicals that were
    eating a hole in the ozone layer. We worked with citizens to conserve
    the headwaters forest of Northern California, restore the Florida
    Everglades, protect Yellowstone National Park from the assaults of
    mining, in each case proving that environmental stewardship does not
    have to hamstring economic growth.
        Indeed, in tackling the difficult task of cutting sulfur dioxide
    emissions with an innovative system of permit trading, the United States
    is well ahead of the schedule we set for ourselves and well below the
    projected cost in cleaning the environment. I believe we find that same
    common ground as we address the challenge of climate change.
        Before we begin our discussion today, I think it's important for me
    to explain the four principles that will guide my approach to this
    issue. First, I'm convinced that the science of climate change is real.
    We'll hear more about this today from our first panel. But for me the
    bottom line is that, although we do not know everything, what we do know
    is more than enough to warrant responsible action.
        The great majority of the world's climate scientists have concluded,
    if we don't cut our emission of greenhouse gases, temperatures will rise
    and will disrupt the global climate. In fact, most scientists say this
    process has already begun. I might add that I had nothing to do with
    scheduling this conference on the day which is predicted to be the
    hottest October 6th that we have ever had in Washington, DC. [Laughter]
        I know not everyone agrees on how to interpret the scientific
    conclusions. I know not everyone shares my assessment of the risks. But
    I think we all have to agree that the potential for serious climate
    disruption is real. It would clearly be a grave mistake to bury our
    heads in the sand and pretend the issue will go away.
        The second principle is that when the nations of the world meet in
    December in Kyoto, Japan, we must be prepared to commit to realistic and
    binding goals on our emissions of greenhouse gases. With 4 percent of
    the world's population, we enjoy more than 20 percent of the world's
    wealth, which helps to explain why we also produce more than 20 percent
    of the world's

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    greenhouse gases. If we expect other nations to act on the problem, we
    must show leadership.
        The third principle is that we must embrace solutions that will
    allow us to continue to grow our economy as we honor our global
    responsibilities and our responsibilities to our children. We've worked
    far too hard to revitalize the American dream to jeopardize our progress
    now. Therefore, we must emphasize flexible market-based approaches. We
    must work with business and industry to find the right ways to reduce
    greenhouse gas emissions. We must promote technologies that make energy
    production and consumption more efficient.
        There are many people here today from companies that are addressing
    the climate change in innovative ways, taking steps that will save money
    for American families even as we reduce the threat of global warming.
    For example, a number of leading electric utilities, including AEP,
    Southern Company, Niagara Mohawk, and Northern States Power, are working
    with homeowners to promote a new technology called geo-exchange, using
    geothermal pumps to heat and cool homes far more cheaply than
    traditional systems while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40
    percent or more. Ballard Power and United Technologies are leading
    pioneers in developing fuel cells that are so clean, their only exhaust
    is distilled water. Right now, Ballard is working with Chrysler,
    Mercedes Benz, and Toyota to introduce fuel cells into new cars. Both of
    these technologies represent the kind of creative solutions that will
    make our job easier.
        The fourth principle is that we must expect all nations, both
    industrialized and developing, to participate in this process in a way
    that is fair to all. It is encouraging that so many nations in so many
    parts of the world are developing so rapidly. That is good news for
    their people, and it is good for America's economic future. But as we've
    seen right here at home, rising energy demands that accompany economic
    development traditionally have meant large increases in greenhouses gas
    emissions. In fact, if current trends continue, emissions from the
    developing world will likely eclipse those from the developed world in
    the next few decades.
        But they have an opportunity to pursue a different future without
    sacrificing economic growth. The industrialized world alone cannot
    assume responsibility for reducing emissions. Otherwise, we'll wind up
    with no reduction in emissions within a matter of a few decades. In
    Kyoto, therefore, we will ask for meaningful but equitable commitments
    from all nations. Second, we must explore new ways for American
    businesses to help these rapidly growing countries to meet their
    developmental needs with cleaner and more efficient energy technologies.
        Today I hope we can take a step forward in putting all four of these
    principles into effect. We have studied this issue long enough to know
    that there are sensible options for action. It is our job now to pull
    them together into a coherent plan.
        Nearly three decades ago when the Apollo astronauts first went to
    the Moon, we gained an entirely new perspective on the global challenge
    we face today. For looking down on Earth from the vantage point that
    revealed no political boundaries or divisions, the astronauts had the
    same chilling sensation. They were simply awestruck by how tiny and
    fragile our planet is, protected from the harsh void of space by an
    atmosphere that looked as thin and delicate as the skin of an onion.
    Every astronaut since has experienced the same insight, and they've even
    given it a name, the Overview Effect. It has instilled in each new
    astronaut a passion to convince people we must work together on Earth's
    behalf. Rusty Schweickart has said, ``You realize that on that little
    blue-and-white thing, there is everything that means anything to you,
    all history and music and poetry and art and death and birth and love,
    all of it on that little spot out there you can cover with your thumb.''
        To the best of my knowledge, only one person here has actually
    experienced the Overview Effect firsthand, Dr. Mae Jemison, a former
    shuttle astronaut and current international development expert who will
    participate in our third panel discussion this afternoon. Nonetheless, I
    challenge everyone in this room to rise to a vantage point high enough
    to experience the Overview Effect. It will enable us to reach common
    ground.
        Let me say when the Vice President was talking and Father O'Donovan
    was talking, I was looking around this old hall that I have loved for so
    long, and I found it utterly amazing that I first came here 33 years
    ago. I was reading this morning up at Camp David the list of people who
    were going to be here today, and I found it utterly amazing that a few
    of you I first talked to as long as 20 years ago about the need to build
    an alternative energy future

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    for America. And I find it completely amazing that five-eighths of my
    Presidency is behind me.
        I make these points for this reason: If you think about the
    benchmarks in your own life, it doesn't take long to live your life. And
    what seems at the beginning of your life a very long time, seems to have
    passed in the flash of an eye once you have experienced it. These great
    developments, such as the one we're here to talk about today, occur over
    many life spans. And popular democracies are far more well-organized to
    take advantage of opportunities or deal with immediate crises than they
    are to do the responsible thing, which is to take a moderate but
    disciplined approach far enough in advance of a train coming down the
    track to avoid leaving our children and our grandchildren with a
    catastrophe.
        So I ask you to think about that. We do not want the young people
    who sat on these steps today, for whom 33 years will also pass in the
    flash of an eye, to have to be burdened or to burden their children with
    our failure to act.
        Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:30 a.m. in Gaston Hall at Georgetown
    University. In his remarks, he referred to Father Leo J. O'Donovan,
    president, Georgetown University; and Apollo astronaut Russell L.
    Schweickart.