Statement of Hillary Clinton on Live Earth

Senator Clinton issued the following statement on Live Earth.

"The scientific consensus is clear and overwhelming: we are causing the planet to warm, with potentially devastating consequences to ourselves and our children. We need to take immediate steps to address this problem, and I applaud everyone who is participating in Live Earth for demanding action.

"The United States must reassert leadership and I believe we should reengage the world community to solve this problem. By putting the right incentives in place, we will drive American businesses to innovate, creating new products and new jobs. Failing to act is the riskier course to both our environment and our economy.

"I have proposed a Strategic Energy Fund to eliminate oil company subsidies, and use the proceeds to invest $50 billion in research, development, and deployment of clean energy technologies, such as wind and solar, energy efficiency, and ethanol and other homegrown biofuels. I support a national cap and trade program to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent in the coming decades, which will help us to avoid the most harmful impacts of global warming.

"I have also called for a dramatic increase in renewable energy by requiring utilities generate 20 percent of our electricity from renewable sources by 2020, and I have proposed an ambitious plan to make all federal buildings carbon neutral by the year 2030. Buildings account for 40 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and the federal government owns or leases more than 500,000.

"I have also made my campaign carbon neutral by offsetting all carbon emissions produced by the campaign during travel, at the headquarters and in all state offices.

"As people gather around the globe for Live Earth, they draw attention to the clear choice that we face. It is past time for us to act. If we do it right, we can transform this grave environmental challenge into an opportunity to establish the United States as a clean energy leader."