Subject: HRC remarks at LCV
From: Dan Schwerin <[email-masked]>
To: "[email-masked]'" <[email-masked]>
Cc: "[email-masked]" <[email-masked]>, Ethan Gelber <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 1 Dec 2014 07:44:39 +0000

John, I wanted to share this draft (below and attached) of HRC’s Monday night remarks at LCV.  Please let me know if you have any concerns or suggestions.  It would be particularly helpful to get your guidance on whether to use the bracketed paragraphs on natural gas in front of this audience.  Our current thinking is that while it might not be terribly popular in the room, omitting it altogether might send an unintended signal to others. What do you think?
Thanks
Dan

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
REMARKS TO THE LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS
NEW YORK, NY
MONDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2014

Thank you, Carol, for those kind words and for your leadership over so many years.  It’s wonderful to see more friends than I can possibly recognize -- Gene Karpinski, John Adams, Dan Tishman, Tom Steyer, John Podesta, and so many more.  I’m delighted to be here with you all tonight to support this invaluable organization.

The other night I was at the New York Historical Society and Walter Isaacson asked me if any historical figures have been on my mind lately.  My answer may have surprised some people, but it will make sense to everyone here at LCV – and that’s Teddy Roosevelt.

[No, not your Teddy Roosevelt, who I know is here tonight.  It’s his famous great-great-grandfather I’m thinking of.]

Not just because I loved Ken Burns’ documentary, but also because in many ways the challenges we face today harken back to those of President Roosevelt’s time, from economic inequality to environmental degradation.

TR understood that America’s vast natural bounty and beauty had to be safeguarded, managed, and nurtured – and that if we did so wisely, it would be a source of perpetual strength and wealth for our nation.

 “It is not what we have that will make us a great nation,” he said. “It is the way in which we use it.”

That’s as true today as it was in the time of the Bull Moose.  And that’s why we need the League of Conservation Voters as much as we ever have.

For decades now, LCV has worked to make Teddy Roosevelt’s vision a reality.
You’ve never let us forget that stewardship must always be part of citizenship.

Thanks in part to your effort and energy, the environmental movement has made incredible strides.  When industry dumped toxic waste anywhere it pleased until rivers caught fire… when power plants and factories spewed smog into the air with reckless abandon, LCV stood up and helped shepherd the passage of the Clean Air and Water Acts.

In the ‘90s, as Carol and John remember so well, you supported the Clinton Administration’s efforts to pass dozens of bills that strengthened those laws.  Our actions then helped pave the way for stricter air quality standards that reduced the use of ozone-depleting chemicals.  And your backing helped us expand the national parks system to protect millions more acres of public lands.

Years later, LCV pushed for and rallied behind President Obama’s use of the Clean Air Act to set the first-ever federal limits on carbon pollution from existing power plants, which are driving the most dangerous effects of climate change.  As you know, power plants account for about 40 percent of the carbon pollution in the United States.  And as the EPA’s comment period ends, your work over the past few months is helping ensure that Americans’ broad-based support for the Clean Power Plan is heard loud and clear.

It’s an exciting time.  Between the Administration’s announcement last month of a $3 billion commitment to the global Green Climate Fund, to the new joint announcement with China, to new rules under consideration for ozone.  These achievements represent a major step forward.

There really is no alternative to strong leadership on this urgent challenge.
The science is unforgiving – no matter what the deniers may say.  Sea levels are rising.  Ice caps are melting.  Storms, droughts, and wildfires are wreaking havoc.  Thirteen of the top fourteen warmest years in recorded history have all occurred since 2000.  And this past summer, scientists found levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere not seen in hundreds of thousands of years.

So the threat is real.  But so is the opportunity.

Americans are up to the challenge.  Our country has a long history of finding innovative solutions to pressing environmental problems that protect our health and natural heritage while growing our economy.

Just look back to the 19th century, when much of our energy came from wood.  By the time Teddy Roosevelt took office, our forest resources had become so depleted that we faced both energy and environmental crises.
Roosevelt stepped in with national leadership that was both decisive and innovative.  At the time, critics warned that his conservation policies would spell economic ruin, but instead they actually increased the amount of available wood by making forestry sustainable.

History repeated itself when LCV and other environmental groups were fighting to pass the Clean Air Act in 1970.  Industry groups warned this landmark piece of legislation would have disastrous economic consequences.

Instead, thanks to well-designed policies and American ingenuity, the costs of meeting the environmental goals laid out in the Act and subsequent amendments have been far lower than expected.  And the economic and public health benefits have proven that we don’t have to choose between a healthy environment and a healthy economy.

So to those who doubt the science of climate change and lack faith in American innovation, just tell them: look at the record, and look at what’s already happening across the country.  Thanks to smart federal and state policies, academic research, private sector innovation, and the crucial work of groups like LCV, we are already advancing clean energy solutions that can begin turning this tide and make America a clean energy superpower for the 21st century.

We have the opportunity to invest in the infrastructure of the future, including next generation power plants to produce electricity more cleanly, smarter grids to deliver it more effectively, and greener buildings to use it more efficiently.

Under the Obama administration’s leadership, smart policy and good old fashioned American ingenuity has resulted in rapid growth in renewable energy and energy efficiency.

The amount of electricity generated from wind, solar, geothermal and other renewables has more than doubled over the past five years.

Federal vehicle and appliance standards and building efficiency improvements have saved American businesses and households billions of dollars.  We are beginning to move past the old, false choice between protecting our environment and growing our economy – and instead finally committing to doing both.

[Now, I know many of you in this room have serious concerns about the risks associated with the rapidly expanding production of natural gas, which is transforming our domestic energy landscape.  Methane leaks in the production and transportation of natural gas pose a particularly troubling threat.  So it’s crucial that we put in place smart regulations -- and enforce them -- including deciding not to drill when the risks are too high.]

[If we’re smart about this, and put in place the right safeguards, natural gas can play an important role in the transition to a clean energy economy, reducing sulfur dioxide, mercury, and carbon pollution while creating tens of thousands of new jobs.]

The impact of the progress we’ve made here in the United States over the past several years is being felt far beyond our borders.  Because America’s ability to lead the world on climate change hinges on what we do here at home.

No other country will fall in line just because we tell them to – they need to see us taking significant steps on our own.

I know first-hand how hard it is to mobilize substantive progress on a global scale.  But I also know how important it is.

When President Obama and I went to the global climate conference in Copenhagen in 2009, we ran into a wall of opposition from countries like China, India, and Brazil.
The President and I literally had to crash a secret meeting between them to force real negotiation.  We marched right by startled Chinese security officials.  I had to duck under their outstretched arms.  And you should have seen the look on the leaders’ faces when we finally sat down at the table.

That persistence paid off.

Thanks to the agreement that we hammered out in Copenhagen, for the first time, all major economies agreed to make commitments to curb carbon emissions through 2020, and to report transparently on their efforts.  We didn’t get everything we wanted – far from it – but we paved the way for future progress.

So I was thrilled to see China join the United States in announcing post-2020 climate commitments.

For the first time, China has agreed to slow, stop, and reverse its emissions growth, and to deploy up to 1,000 gigawatts of clean energy to help make that happen.  That’s more clean energy than all the coal-fired power plants operating in China today.

Now, it may in fact be too late to prevent significant warming over the course of this century.  But if we act decisively now, we can still head off the most catastrophic consequences.

Later this month in Lima will be another important opportunity.  The discussions there will lay the groundwork for the UN climate summit in Paris next year, where I hope the world will reach a strong agreement that’s applicable to all – developed and developing nations alike.

In pursuing these international agreements, the United States has a much stronger hand to play because of the work being done here at home.  We’re finally proving to the world that America is serious about meeting our obligations, and that there is no challenge too great for this nation to tackle.

So it’s critical that we continue to press forward.  Part of that means continuing to stand with President Obama and Gina McCarthy as they put the Clean Power Plan into action.  But it’s not just up to government.  Organizations like LCV and the Clinton Foundation must continue leading on the front lines of this challenge.

In fact, at the Clinton Climate Initiative, we’re working with both private and public sector partners to develop innovative new financing tools to reduce carbon emissions, improve energy efficiency, and spur investments in green construction.

To date, we have secured over $10 billion in pledges from pension funds nationwide to invest in green building construction and retrofitting for commercial, industrial, and public buildings.  Twenty percent of that money has been already deployed, and these projects have generated more than 30,000 jobs.  We need more partnerships like that, where we bring everyone to the table to figure out financing options that ensure savings from green energy ends up in the pockets of consumers.  We know that if utilities become as committed to building new capacity through efficiency as they are through new supply, then we really will make progress.  And that’s just the beginning of what’s possible.

This is an all-hands-on-deck challenge.  Even beyond government, utilities, and organizations like ours, local communities, universities, even individuals all have a role to play.

Fortunately, we have leaders who are showing us the way.  One of them is Frances Beinecke, who you are honoring tonight.  Bill and I have known and admired Frances for years.  Through her leadership of the National Resources Defense Council, Frances has set an example for us all.

Now it’s our responsibility to follow it.

We have an opportunity to come together to address this urgent and defining challenge.  And as Teddy Roosevelt would have said, the way we use this opportunity is up to us.

I’m absolutely confident that LCV, as always, will remain in the arena, daring greatly and leading boldly.

Thank you for protecting our heritage and preserving our future.

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