Statement of Greenpeace USA Interim Executive Director Mike Clark on the Inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States.
January 21, 2008
Statement of Greenpeace USA Interim Executive Director Mike Clark on the Inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States.
The new president at Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. (C) Greenpeace/Tim Aubry
The world has waited a long time for America to return to global leadership. Today's historic inauguration begins a moment of great potential – it is President Obama's moment to seize.
Obama's presidency will be judged not against the failures of the past, but against the challenges of the present and future. Will America join the world in creating a green, peaceful future? Will we move rapidly to a clean energy future, create millions of green jobs, and foster a new era of sustainable prosperity?
People who gathered to see the new president Obama(C) Greenpeace/Tim Aubry
The fate of the Earth's climate will be decided during this Administration. We still have time to escape the worst effects of global warming. We have the skills to do so. What we've lacked until now is the political will.
President Obama pledged to make science the basis of American environmental policy. Restoring America's global leadership will require delivering on that pledge. The overwhelming scientific consensus says we must cut global warming pollution by 25-40 percent by 2020 to avoid the worst effects of climate change. We must eliminate the use of coal, oil and other fossil fuels, protect the world's disappearing forests and transition to clean energy. But we must start now. Delay is not an option.
Crowds of people gathered on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. (C) Greenpeace/Tim Aubry
Greenpeace pledges to support President Obama in taking the needed – and difficult – measures to avoid catastrophic changes from global warming; and we pledge to hold him accountable if he does not.
We also look to the President for new leadership to safeguard our oceans, eliminate the toxic materials that threaten our health and environment, and stop the proliferation of nuclear technology. Americans – and our planet – deserve no less.