January 21, 2021

Congressman Casten Statement on President Biden Rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Sean Casten (IL-06) released the following statement after President Biden rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement hours after being sworn into office.

Casten said, "As someone who's devoted my career to fighting climate change, I spent much of my first term in Congress pushing back on the rampant climate denialism and disdain for science exhibited by the Trump Administration. After four years of backsliding on climate policy, I am thrilled that President Biden has rejoined the Paris Agreement. While we have a lot of cleaning up to do, today we begin to make progress combatting the climate crisis.

"Rejoining Paris is a crucial first step as we work to restore America's international standing and move forward to address the existential threat that is climate change. However, rejoining Paris won't be enough to solve the climate crisis—far, far from it. To protect our communities and prevent economic catastrophe, we must act with sufficient urgency and boldness. That's why I spent my first term fighting for a comprehensive climate action—from protecting our financial system against climate risk to ending oil and gas subsidies to revitalizing our infrastructure."

Last month, Casten led members of the Illinois congressional delegation in unveiling the report, "The Urgent Need for Climate Action: Health Benefits for the State of Illinois if the United States Meets the Goals of the Paris Agreement." This report connects the impact of climate change on the health of Illinoisans and the importance of keeping global warming below 2 degrees Celsius (C). Information about that event and a copy of the report can be found here.

During his first term, Casten worked with his colleagues on the Select Committee on the Climate crisis along with scientists and industry experts to create Congress' first comprehensive Climate Crisis Action Plan—a blueprint to dramatically lower emissions, create jobs, and revitalize our infrastructure. Now, Casten looks forward to working with the Biden team to deliver and build on that plan, equipped with additional authorities to hold power to account as we take bold action to combat the climate crisis and lead the transition to a clean energy economy.