Vice President Joe Biden lauded business leaders for deciding to tackle climate change and urged them to do whatever they could to make sure the issue gets the attention he feels it deserves.
During a 30-minute speech at the end of the President’s Climate Summit, a day of discussion and pledges from business leaders to cut their carbon emissions and increase their use of renewable energy, Biden said U.S. business leaders are the most indispensable partner in working to combat climate change. The government needs to work with businesses to encourage more clean energy use, he said.
For Biden, who often emphasizes his connection with America’s coal country, that means helping those working in the fossil fuel industry. Many scientists blame the burning of fossil fuels for releasing greenhouse gases, causing global temperatures to rise.
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“There will be people who get hurt. There will be industries that get hurt,” he said. “And, it matters, and we have an obligation to help them transition.”
Biden also warned about the potential effects of climate change, and said the Pentagon considers it to be one of the top threats to national security.
Areas of southeast Asia could sink beneath the Pacific Ocean, he said while pointing to conflicts such as the war in Sudan as examples of deadly fights over farmable land.
“Imagine what will happen. You think the migration patterns coming out of Afghanistan and Syria are a problem now, you want to destabilize existing governments?” Biden said. “Watch what happens [for] tens of millions of people when food security is at stake and they move and they are on the march.”
With the United States set to negotiate an international deal on climate change in Paris at the end of the year, it’s important for the American government to show leadership, Biden said.
He said there’s a “consensus” among the American people that climate change is real and influenced by mankind, and he’s encouraged by momentum for businesses to move toward greener energy. Many climate scientists blame greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels for driving manmade global warming.
Biden urged the business leaders to keep the pressure on their colleagues to make similar commitments to green energy. He pointed to the 81 companies in attendance on Monday as an example of a powerful voice that could make a difference.
If American businesses take the lead, then the rest of the country will follow, he said.
“We have to lead, not just by the example of our power, but by the power of our example,” he said.
