Quigley: EPA Administrator Pruitt is Risking Lives, Jeopardizing Livelihoods

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05), who serves as Vice Chair of the Sustainable Energy & Environment Coalition (SEEC), released the following statement after EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt denied the strong connection between carbon dioxide and climate change:

"Less than a month ago, Scott Pruitt was confirmed as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Today, he said he does not believe carbon dioxide is a primary contributor to global warming. Out of all the outrageous comments he has made about the existence of climate change, this may be the most misguided yet.

"By denying the simple fact that man-made carbon emissions are the principal cause of the potentially catastrophic climate change we are already experiencing, Administrator Pruitt is endangering the lives of children who are increasingly exposed to asthma inducing air pollution; the elderly, who are hit particularly hard by heat waves; and everyone living in the path of increasingly severe storms and deepening droughts. He is risking the livelihoods of farmers, who rely on predictable and steady weather patterns; fisherman, who earn their living from healthy and productive seas; and anyone in a coastal community experiencing massive increases in costly flooding.

"The impacts of climate change effect us all, regardless of party affiliation, and so will the severe economic consequences of falling behind in the global transition to sustainable growth and a low carbon energy future. Mr. Pruitt has repeatedly said that he believes that environmental protection and job growth can go hand in hand. I wholeheartedly agree. But the way forward is through responsible resource management, not polluting the land we live on, the air we breathe, or the water we drink.

"There is no debate about whether or not carbon dioxide is contributing to the warming of our Earth, but my invitation to Mr. Pruitt to discuss the merits of this threat still stands."

In December, Rep. Quigley invited Scott Pruitt to participate in a debate on the merits of climate change, following Pruitt's remarks questioning the sound science surrounding the threat.