Heinrich Statement On U.S.-China Agreement To Address Climate Change

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, released the following statement today after President Obama announced an agreement with China to reduce carbon pollution and combat climate change:

"This historic agreement is welcome news and a positive step toward creating a cleaner and safer environment. Climate change is not theoretical. In fact, it's considered a significant threat to national security by the Pentagon with the potential to foster terrorism abroad.

"In New Mexico, we're already seeing the effects of climate change manifest in more extreme drought conditions, larger wildfires, shrinking forests, and increased flooding. The longer we wait to act, the more difficult and expensive the solutions will be and the more unpredictable our weather will become.

"New Mexico's national laboratories play a significant role in climate monitoring and modeling, which will be important factors in future international agreements.  It's morally imperative that we embrace the challenge of reversing the effects of climate change and use science as our guide to making solid policy decisions."