Press Releases

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and 70 House members today introduced a resolution recognizing the fifth anniversary of the Paris Climate Agreement. The Paris Agreement, adopted in December 2015, committed the international community to curbing greenhouse gas emissions and seeks to limit the increase in global temperatures to less than 2° Celsius, in an effort to prevent dangerous, human-induced interference with the climate. 

“Maine has already been acutely affected by the climate crisis, and the natural resources we value are under massive threat without a global effort to change course. We need an international approach to address this emergency head-on, said Pingree. “The Trump administration’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement undermined America’s pledge to work with other nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but fortunately the incoming Biden administration has made it a priority to rejoin this important agreement. On January 21, 2021, our nation will once again take decisive action on climate change to protect our planet, before it’s too late.”

President Trump announced his intention to pull out of the agreement in 2017, in spite of the fact that nearly 200 nations have stayed committed to the goals of the agreement The United States officially withdrew on November 4, 2020, one day after the presidential election. President-elect Joe Biden has repeatedly affirmed his commitment to rejoin the important treaty.

Pingree has condemned the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the agreement. She is an original cosponsor of H.R. 9, the Climate Action Now Act, which would prohibit the use of federal funds to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement and pressures the Executive bran ch to develop a plan for meeting our national commitment to greenhouse gas reductions. 

As the Vice Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Environment, Pingree is a recognized policy leader on climate change. She has introduced three bills in the 116^th Congress to protect our oceans and coastlines from the climate crisis and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Two of these bills (H.R. 1716 & H.R. 3596) have already passed the House and await action in the Senate. She has cosponsored 76 bills in the House to address the climate crisis, including the visionary Green New Deal. More about Pingree’s work on the climate crisis is available at pingree.house.gov/climatechange.

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