What Leaders are Saying about Global Warming

Posted: 02-May-2005; Updated: 31-May-2005

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) recently said on the floor of the Senate, "Greenhouse gas is a problem." He is shown here with U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue.

While there is not yet widespread agreement on a single solution for climate change, consensus is growing that global warming is happening and humans are largely responsible.  Who thinks we need to start solving climate change? See statements from business leaders, policy leaders and faith-based groups.

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Business Leaders

"There's no time to wait because tomorrow is now. We are living in a carbon-constrained world where the amount of CO₂ must be reduced...But industry cannot get there alone. We need to work in concert with the government and environmental groups to promote and reward leadership."
   --Jeffrey Immelt, chairman and CEO of General Electric, Ecomagination launch, May 9, 2005

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"We accept that the science on global warming is overwhelming.  There should be mandatory carbon constraints."
    -- John W. Rowe, chairman and CEO of Exelon Corp., in Business Week, "Special Report: Global Warming," August 16, 2004

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"Climate change is a challenge facing both businesses and policymakers.  Early action represents a common-sense approach that can begin the process of lowering emissions along a gradual, cost-effective glide-path.  At AEP we believe there is considerable merit to beginning this process now."
   -- E. Linn Draper, Jr., former chairman and CEO of American Electric Power (1993-2004), Pew Center on Global Climate Change Business Environmental Leadership Council

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"I am convinced that it is prudent to take action now to address what we do know [about climate change]."
   -- James E. Rogers, CEO of Cinergy Corp., Pew Center on Global Climate Change Business Environmental Leadership Council

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"Concern that greenhouse gases from human activities may be influencing changes in the earth's climate system has resulted in a variety of local, state and regional responses, as well as increased policy debate at the national level. Duke Energy shares this concern...  A national approach would also be easier to integrate into a comprehensive global response, which the U.S. and other countries should continue to pursue."
   -- Duke Energy, "Position Statement on United States Climate Change Policy," 2005

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Policy Leaders

"[G]lobal warming exists, and we have to do something about it, and what we have to do about it is reduce carbon dioxide."
   -- Dr. John Marburger, Science Advisor to President George W. Bush, in an address at Princeton University on March 1, 2005

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"It may surprise you a little bit, and maybe it's because I'm a hunter and a fisherman, but I think we need to pay a little more attention to what we need to do to protect our environment.  When you have energy companies like Shell and British Petroleum ... saying there is a problem with excess carbon dioxide emissions, I think we ought to listen."
   -- Former Secretary of State James Baker speaking before the Houston Forum Club, Reuters, March 3, 2005

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"In Alaska, where severe storms, flooding and permafrost melting have caused widespread damage, the two Republican senators say they are willing to reconsider carbon-dioxide regulation after voting against it two years ago.

"Sen. Ted Stevens, in an interview this week, said he is now willing to discuss ways to reduce man-made emissions if they can be shown to be contributing to the damage.  He didn't rule out the possibility of switching his position to favor the bill - reintroduced last week by Sens. John McCain, the Arizona Republican, and Joseph Lieberman, the Connecticut Democrat -- that would require industry to reduce emissions to 2000 levels by the year 2010.

"Alaska's junior senator, Lisa Murkowski, expressed similar sentiments in a separate interview.  'I need to be sensitive that there are changes going on right now,' she said.  'If that change is due in part to what man is contributing to the atmosphere, I think it would be prudent to look at.'"

   -- "Senators Warm Up to Emissions Curbs," The Wall Street Journal, February 22, 2005

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"There is no doubt that human society is having an impact on our environment.  There have been numerous studies looking at how man's actions may be affecting the climate.  That impact is subject to different interpretations, but human society has contributed to pollution and, evidence suggests, a global warming trend.  The question we face is not whether we should take action on climate change, but what kind of action we should take.   Climate change is a shared responsibility for all nations, including the United States."
   -- U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE), speech on climate change at the United Nations briefing "One Day After Kyoto: Next Steps on Climate," February 17, 2005

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"The United States of America, of all countries, should start with technology and science and say: Greenhouse gas is a problem.  We are still researching how much of a problem it is.  But we should, working with other countries, use our science and technology to deal with it and, in the process, see if it can lead us toward that brilliant intersection of clean energy and clean air that will one day give us a steady supply of energy and clean air that we can breathe."
   -- U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), floor remarks on climate change, February 15, 2005

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"[C]limate variability and change is a top priority issue for the United States and all nations. ... President Bush has consistently acknowledged that human activity can affect our climate, and that climate variability does not recognize national borders.  The key issue is not whether there is any human-influenced effect.  Instead, the issues are how large any human influences may be as compared to natural variability, how costly and effective human intervention may be in reversing climate variability, and what technologies may be required over the near and long term, as determined by developments in climate science."
   -- U.S. Senator Larry Craig (R-ID), floor remarks on climate change, February 15, 2005

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"An independent arm of the Energy Department says a package of proposed energy changes including a limit on emissions of global-warming gasses wouldn't materially hurt the U.S. economy. ... The report says a package of proposals to reduce global-warming emissions proposed late last year by the National Commission on Energy Policy, a bipartisan foundation-backed group, would 'not materially affect average economic growth rates' in the U.S. through 2025." 
    -- "Report Calls for Emission Caps," The Wall Street Journal, April 15, 2005

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Faith-Based Groups

"A core group of influential evangelical leaders has put its considerable political power behind a cause that has barely registered on the evangelical agenda, fighting global warming.  These church leaders, scientists, writers and heads of international aid agencies argue that global warming is an urgent threat, a cause of poverty and a Christian issue because the Bible mandates stewardship of God's creation.  The Rev. Rich Cizik, vice president of governmental affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals and a significant voice in the debate, said, 'I don't think God is going to ask us how he created the earth, but he will ask us what we did with what he created.'"
   -- "Evangelical Leaders Swing Influence Behind Effort to Combat Global Warming," The New York Times, March 10, 2005

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"In the United States, Senators John McCain and Joseph Lieberman have introduced legislation that would set targets and create a trading system that would allow companies to reduce emissions in a way that is responsive to the market economy.  This bill is an excellent starting point for whatever plan the Congress and administration will eventually develop. ... But time is important.  With each passing year, we lose the ability to slow and minimize the effects of global warming."
   --Christianity Today, "Heat Stroke," editorial, October 2004