Obama on climate change action: Delay no longer an option, denial no longer an acceptable response

“Few challenges facing America and the world are more urgent than combating climate change,” President-elect Obama told the Bi-Partisan Governors Global Climate Summit in Los Angeles, California on November 18. “Now is the time to confront this challenge once and for all. Delay is no longer an option. Denial is no longer an acceptable response.”

Our November 17 post on the climate summit

Governors Global Climate Summit home page

Press release and full text of remarks

Video message to the Bi-Partisan Governors Global Climate Summit
President-elect Obama delivered a surprise message by video to the Bi-Partisan Governors Global Climate Summit in Los Angeles, California this morning.
The hosts of the Summit include Governors Rod Blagojevich (IL), Charlie Crist (FL), Jim Doyle (WI),  Arnold Schwarzenegger (CA) and Kathleen Sebelius (KS) as well as representatives of approximately 22 other states; government officials from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Poland, the UK and others.
 
Excerpt from President-elect Obama’s remarks as delivered: 

Few challenges facing America and the world are more urgent than combating climate change. The science is beyond dispute and the facts are clear. Sea levels are rising. Coastlines are shrinking. Weve seen record drought, spreading famine, and storms that are growing stronger with each passing hurricane season.
Climate change and our dependence on foreign oil, if left unaddressed, will continue to weaken our economy and threaten our national security….
 
 
Let me also say a special word to the delegates from around the world who will gather at Poland next month: your work is vital to the planet….And once I take office, you can be sure that the United States will once again engage vigorously in these negotiations, and help lead the world toward a new era of global cooperation on climate change.

Now is the time to confront this challenge once and for all. Delay is no longer an option. Denial is no longer an acceptable response. The stakes are too high. The consequences, too serious….