Pelosi Statement on Climate Talks in Copenhagen

Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami/Drew Hammill, 202-226-7616

Copenhagen - Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement tonight on the United Nations Climate Conference. Speaker Pelosi is currently leading a bipartisan Congressional delegation to Copenhagen.

"The agreement reached tonight in Copenhagen is a breakthrough in the global effort to combat the climate crisis and could not have been reached without President Obama's active involvement and leadership. The President has secured a critical agreement that includes an achievable mitigation target, transparency measures and a financing mechanism - the three key fundamentals outlined in the President's speech today and embodied in the House-passed Waxman-Markey bill.

"In our discussions in Copenhagen, we have been gratified by the enthusiasm of American business leaders and our colleagues in the European Parliament for the House passed clean energy bill. Our legislation will create millions of clean energy jobs for Americans, strengthen our national security and ensure the competitiveness of U.S. businesses in the emerging marketplace for energy efficiency and renewable fuels. Business leaders from around the world have it clear: addressing the climate crisis is not only sound science and a moral imperative, but good business.

"Our bipartisan delegation, which includes 21 Members of the House, has held two days of highly productive meetings and discussions during our visit to the Copenhagen climate meeting. This morning, our delegation discussed responses to the climate crisis with representatives of many of the leading American companies including such innovators as Google, Honeywell and Whirlpool. These business leaders informed us that their businesses are thriving in the fields of energy efficiency and green technologies. They stressed that the funding provided by the Congress through our Recovery Package has been crucial to their making the investments that are producing jobs for Americans and new products that promote energy efficiency, specifically smart grid technology.

"On Thursday, Members of the delegation participated in a roundtable with other women leaders by the Global Gender and Climate Alliance; held bilateral talks with Indian Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh; and met with leading Danish government officials, including the President of the Folketinget Thor Pedersen.

"The delegation also met with leading representatives of the European Council of Ministers, who explained that their various countries have not only complied with carbon reduction mandates, but have simultaneously achieved economic growth and job creation through new clean energy technologies.

"While there were differences between Members of the delegation, as Congressman Joe Barton said, we all believed this was an historic meeting."