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WASHINGTON - Senators Joe Lieberman (D-CT) and John McCain (R-AZ) today applauded the efforts of the scientists responsible for a new report by the Arctic Council that reveals dire consequences of human-caused global warming in the Arctic. The Arctic Council, a high-level intergovernmental forum comprised of eight Arctic nations - Canada, Denmark/Greenland/Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States - and six indigenous tribes, today released the findings of its four-year Arctic Climate Impact Assessment.
“The Arctic Council’s report makes it extremely clear that global warming is changing the face of our earth rapidly, making it more and more difficult for human society and plant and animal life to adapt,” Lieberman said. “We have a responsibility to those who will inherit the Earth from us to take immediate steps to stop the worst of these impacts. As a first step, we should enact a mandatory reduction program in the United States, like the one I have proposed with Senator McCain, to set our nation and globe on a course that will avert the worst of the worst.”
“I congratulate the hundreds of scientists who worked on the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment. This crucial work will aid in our efforts to secure a mandatory cap on the emission of greenhouse gases in the U.S.,” McCain said. “The Assessment adds to the already substantial body of evidence on the impacts of global warming, impacts which members of the Senate witnessed first-hand during a recent visit to the Arctic region. I look forward to further discussing the Assessment during the upcoming Commerce Committee hearing on November 16.”
Lieberman and McCain have jointly led the effort in the U.S. Congress to pass legislation addressing the problem of global warming. Last year they came within 7 votes of passing their bill in the Senate and are working to bring it up again.
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