Syria's Support Leaves U.S. as Lone Opponent
“Climate Change is a Serious Threat to Florida”
WASHINGTON — Congressman Vern Buchanan today urged President Trump to reconsider his decision to withdraw the U.S. from the landmark Paris Climate Accord. Buchanan noted that recent announcements by Syria and Nicaragua leave the U.S. as the only country in the world to reject the pact.
“Climate change is a serious threat, especially for a state like Florida that has two coastlines vulnerable to rising waters,” said Buchanan, who urgedthe president in May to stay in the accord. “There is a reason why 196 nations across the globe support this voluntary and non-binding agreement.”
“Protecting the environment and growing the economy are not mutually exclusive,” Buchanan said. “We should be doing everything we can to accomplish both.”
President Trump announced in June that the U.S. would no longer remain in the agreement, a process that will be complete in 2020. Since then, both Nicaragua and Syria have agreed to sign the deal further isolating the U.S. from the international effort to address climate change.
The climate agreement would attempt to lower greenhouse gas emissions, slow down global temperature increases and create a global effort to deal with climate change. Climate change has been identified as a cause of sea level rise, changes in frequency and intensity of storms and drought.
The Suncoast is especially vulnerable to the consequences of climate change. According to the Bradenton Herald, the Bradenton area could see $25.4 billion in home value loss due to climate change-related sea level rise. Almost 40,000 houses in the Bradenton area could end up underwater by 2100, according to projections based on data supplied by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
All official press releases from Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL)
