Casten, Schakowsky, Foster, Kelly, Schneider, Underwood Unveil Illinois Climate Report
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representatives Sean Casten (IL-06), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Bill Foster (IL-11), Robin Kelly (IL-02), Brad Schneider (11-10), and Lauren Underwood (IL-14) unveiled a new climate reported titled, "The Urgent Need for Climate Action: Health Benefits for the State of Illinois if the United States Meets the Goals of the Paris Agreement," prepared by the staff of the Committee on Oversight and Reform and Subcommittee on Environment. Through worsening air pollution, the spread of infectious diseases, extreme heat, floods, and more this report connects the impact of climate change on the health of Illinoisans, and the importance of meeting the goal of keeping global warming below 2 degrees Celsius.
The full report can be found here. A one pager on the report can be found here.
Casten said, "The climate crisis poses an existential threat to us all. While this report shows that climate change will soon have devastating consequences for Illinoisans, it also shows how meeting the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement will have lifesaving health and economic benefits for our state—saving Illinois 227,000 premature deaths, 253,000 hospitalizations, and over $1.8 trillion in economic value by 2050. Every American will benefit from President-elect Biden's pledge to rejoin the Paris Agreement on the first day of his presidency, and I look forward to working closely with his administration to ensure we take bold action to address the climate crisis and lead the transition to a clean energy economy."
Schneider said, "Climate change is an opportunity to lead the green economy of the future. But if we don't take action, it will have violent consequences for Illinois' public health. With a new Administration, we have a chance to turn the corner and make this a different world."
###