The United Nations Climate Change Conference just wrapped up in Spain. Tampa Congresswoman Kathy Castor was there, and pledged to take action.
Castor chairs the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. She joined a delegation that just came back from Madrid. Castor said during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol there is a "leadership vacuum" on the issue from the U.S., since President Trump pledged to withdraw the country from the Paris climate accords.
"The U.N. Secretary General said during his opening remarks that we're at a point where we can choose a path of surrender, or we can choose a path of hope. Well, the United States of America is a hopeful nation, and we intend this spring, in the U.S. House of Representatives, to release a climate action plan to lower our greenhouse gas emissions. To chart the course. To give our communities the tools we need to adapt to the rising costs of the climate."
Castor said young people are demanding action to confront the climate crisis, and pledged to do so.
"We understand that we have a moral obligation to our kids and our future generations to tackle the climate crisis," she said, "and that's what we intend to do."
Castor said this gives the country an "enormous opportunity" to create "green," good-paying, sustainable jobs, by "unleashing American ingenuity."
