Robert N. Stavins Quotes

If every country's climate policy was driven purely by environmental science, we may have no need for international agreements.

I have been fighting climate change for two decades, and people often ask me how I remain hopeful in the face of extreme weather and grim forecasts. The answer is simple: I see countless solutions spreading across the nation and across the world. But we need more investment.

Ultimately, here is the choice we face: we can either make the solution to the climate crisis the central organizing principle of civilization–or the hostile conditions we are creating will grow rapidly worse, thickening the smothering blanket of global warming pollution surrounding our planet and destroy the viability of civilization as we know it.

Climate change is a global problem. Its impacts do not respect national borders. No nation can deal with it alone. We must all work together, building joint capability to deal with these emerging threats. .

More countries have agreed to the Paris Climate accords than have ever agreed to anything else in the world.

The Paris pact was correctly described by its opponents - greens and anti-greens alike - as toothless. But it was also the first time that nations around the world had officially agreed that climate change was a problem and that concrete steps should be taken to avoid its worst effects.

Industrialised countries must take the responsibility of helping poorer countries in the climate change action plan.

All action to address climate change is an inseparable and integrated part of the whole plan, and the leadership and commitment of all governments remains central to success.

There is universal consensus among experts that the earth's atmosphere is heating up - and that we are responsible for it by putting carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. We also know that the consequences of global warming are catastrophic. But how do we make sure that all countries reduce greenhouse gases?

Instead of sitting on the sidelines, President Obama has made it clear that the US is ready to lead a global effort to combat climate change.

A knowledgeable and courageous U.S. president could help enormously in leading the world's nations toward saving the climate.

I hope that in future Congresses there will reemerge a recognition that climate change is a reality, that our policies to meet our energy needs must also deal responsibly with environmental issues, including the damage caused by greenhouse gas emissions.

Climate change is a terrible problem, and it absolutely needs to be solved. It deserves to be a huge priority.

I had hoped all of Congress would recognize that it is imperative for our health, economy, and national security that we address the effects of climate change before they get even worse.

Global warming is a crisis greater than WWI and WWII put together. Government leadership is lacking, so companies must play their part.

Global warming and climate change is a big problem. It requires a big solution.

It must be pointed out that climate change has been caused by the long-term historic emissions of developed countries and their high per-capita emissions. Developed countries bear an unshirkable responsibility.

We can beat back the forces of climate change, but we must choose to do so. You’re either on the side of your fellow residents of this planet, or you are on the side of the storms as yet unnamed.

We have hysteria over climate change. Powers bigger than us have already figured out how to save the earth.

... We've laid the groundwork to protect our planet. But the resulting opportunities can be seized only if the next president follows the science, recognizes the dangers of doing nothing, and musters the political will to address the threat.

We basically have three choices: mitigation, adaptation and suffering. We’re going to do some of each. The question is what the mix is going to be. The more mitigation we do, the less adaptation will be required and the less suffering there will be.

The effects of climate change are real and only getting worse. I would like to build on the promises of the Paris Climate Agreement and make our country a global leader on the fight against climate change.

I've been working with every single government since June 1992 to try to get climate action.

Climate change is a shared crisis - one that transcends politics and borders and must be fought collectively, justly and transparently.

We will need to reach out to all those actors - to governments, to civil societies, to businesses - and help in mobilizing them to help in this fight against climate change.