CARE Welcomes Waxman-Markey Bill as Strong Start Towards U.S. Action on Climate Change

CARE has responded to droughts in Kenya, like the one that affected this man and his children. They are seeking water at a distant borehole. (2006 Beatrice Spadacini/CARE)

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 31, 2009) - CARE welcomes the release of draft climate change legislation in the U.S. Congress by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman and Congressman Edward Markey. We also applaud the inclusion of the international adaptation program in the discussion draft, and urge policymakers to to prioritize funding for international adaptation.

Congress must make clear the commitment of the United States to doing its fair share to support adaptation in developing countries vulnerable to climate change. Robust investments in adaptation worldwide are vital and already urgently needed.

Today, 1.4 billion people survive on just over $1.00 a day; they live on the edge of crisis. Climate change is having a disproportionate impact on the poorest – those who are most vulnerable to global warming yet have contributed to it the least. CARE encourages the inclusion of language to ensure that adaptation funding reaches and responds to the priorities of the world's poorest populations.

Successful global climate negotiations, culminating in December in Copenhagen, may well hang on concrete U.S. leadership and action to unite countries around shared goals and responsibilities.

CARE, therefore, recognizes the Waxman-Markey discussion draft as a positive first step in this process, and we look forward to working with the Energy & Commerce Committee to make the bill even stronger as it moves forward.