Assistant Secretary Medina’s Remarks on “U.S. Senators Discuss: Congressional Support for Climate Action”

Good morning, everyone.  Welcome to the U.S. Center at COP27.

I would like to start off by saying thank you to Senator Cardin for leading this Congressional delegation, and to Senators Whitehouse and Markey for joining it.  More important still…thank you all for your years of leadership and partnership on climate issues.

The United States is strongest when Congress and the Administration work together.  When that happens, our country is able to move mountains.

The Inflation Reduction Act, recently passed by Congress and signed by President Biden, is a great example of this.

The IRA is the most significant climate legislation in U.S. history.  It puts the United States on track to meet the U.S. target of reducing emissions 50-52 percent by 2030 and, ultimately, to reach net-zero emissions no later than 2050.

The U.S. Senate also voted to ratify the Kigali amendment to the Montreal Protocol – a decade in the making and a profound victory for the climate.

Ratification of the Kigali amendment is a key step toward reducing our global emissions and avoiding up to half a degree of global warming by the end of the century.

These landmark achievements by Congress and the Biden Administration demonstrate that the United States will deliver on its climate commitments for years to come.

So, with that in mind, I’m honored to introduce Senator Cardin as the leader of this congressional delegation.