Obama Calls on U.S. and Canada to Move to Clean Energy and Tackle Climate Crisis
WASHINGTON (February 19, 2009) — President Obama completed his first international trip to Canada today with a plan for cooperation to address global warming and move our economies to cleaner energy sources. This included an agreement to work together on cleaner vehicles, a smart power grid, and carbon capture sequestration technology for coal. Significantly, tar sands oil was not included in this agreement.
Following is a statement from Susan Casey-Lefkowitz, Director of the Canada Program for the Natural Resources Defense Council:
“President Obama showed bold leadership on the world stage by addressing global warming head-on. The President reaffirmed the priority for both countries to move to a new clean energy future that will strengthen our economies and address the climate crisis. In his remarks, Mr. Obama said that global warming is a ‘worldwide issue that we will have to confront.’ He also emphasized that how we produce energy is fundamental to our economy, security and environment, and cannot be tackled in isolation.
“Demonstrating a change of direction from the previous Administration, President Obama did not endorse the expansion of tar sands – instead he noted the importance of having new technologies to clean up tar sands.
“President Obama demonstrated that he plans to lead the United States and Canada on a new path that includes working together to tackle the climate crisis and shift to a clean energy economy that will meet the challenges of the 21st century.”