done and, well, today, we're actually doing it. [applause] you know, the road has been long, but we have come awfully far and look at how many new faces have joined in this fight. as many obama will no doubt tell you climate change is one of the most important issues we face as a country and as itizens of this world and it affects everyone we know and even we love, our kids, our communities, our ability to obtain a decent living, it impacts our health, our safety and our livelyhoods. one thing is crystal clear, acting on climate has become what it is, a moral responsibility. and thankfully no leader anywhere has understand that better or articulated that more forcefully than our president,

no one has led on this issue as fearlessly as he has. from day one, he saw climate change for what it was, a threat to our core american values, families, communities, and safeguarding those who are most vulnerable. he did not back down from the challenge because of his leonardo dicaprio and his trust -- because of his trust in the great people at the e.p.a. to get the job done right and they got the job done right. [applause] we now have a real shot at protecting this beautiful planet of ours. so this is a historic moment. we are forging ahead to do what's right for our kids and there is no turning back. and i am confident that the huge step forward we're taking today will show the world just what's possible and it will encourage countries across the globe to join in this fight because climate change is a challenge we

conquer together. thank you. [applause] sec. mccarthy: i just couldn't be happier that we have the right person leading this charge for us. so with that, i am honored, i am humbled and i am proud to introduce our president, barack obama. [applause] pres. obama: thank you! thank you, everybody! thank you! thank you so much, thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you, everybody! thank you. thank you.

well, good afternoon, everybody. gina, i want to thank you, not just for the introduction but for the incredible work that you and your team have been doing, not just on this issue, but on generally making sure that we've got clean air, clean water, a great future for our kids. i want to thank all of the members of congress who are here as well who have been fighting this issue and sometimes, you know, at great odds with others, but are willing to take on what is going to be one of the key challenges of our lifetimes and future generations. you want to thank our surgeon general who has been doing outstanding work and helping to make the connection between this critical issue and the health of our families. you know, other the past 6 1/2

years we take on some of the toughest challenges of our time from rebuilding our economy after a devastating recession to ending our wars in iraq and afghanistan and bringing almost all of our troops home, to strengthening our security through tough and principals diplomacy. but i am convinced that no challenge posed a greater threat to our future and future generations than a change in climate and that's what brings us here today. not everyone here is a scientist. [laughter] pres. obama: about some of you are the best scientists in the world. and what you and your colleagues have been showing us for years now is that human activities are changing the climate in dangerous ways. levels of carbon dioxide which

heats up our atmosphere are higher than they have been in 800,000 years. 2014 was the planet's warmest year on record and we've been setting a lot of records in terms of warmest years over the last decade. the one year doesn't maybe a trend, about 14 of the 15 warmest years on record have fallen within the first 15 years of this century. climate change is no longer just about the future that we're predicting for our children or our grandchildren, it's about the reality we're living with every day, right now. the pentagon says the climate change poses immediate risks to our national security. while we can't say any single weather event is entirely caused by climate change, we have seen stronger storms, deeper droughts, longer wildfire seasons.

charleston and miami now flood at high tide. shrinking ice caps force "national geographic" make the biggest change in its atlas since the soviet union broke apart. over the past three decades, nationwide asthma rates have more than doubled and climate change puts those americans at greater risk of landing in the hospital. as one of america's governors has said, we're the first generation to feel the impact of climate change and the last generation that can do something about it. and that's why i committed the united states to leading the world on this challenge because i believe there is such a thing as being too late. most of the issues that i deal with and i deal with some tough issues that cross my desk. by definition, i don't deal with

issues if they're easy to solve because somebody else has already solved them. and some of the them are grim. some of them are heartbreaking. some of them are hard. some of them are frustrating. but most of the time the issues we deal with are ones that are temporally bound and we can anticipate things getting better if we just kind of plug away at it, even incrementally. but this is one of those rare issues because of its magnitude, because of its scope that if we don't get it right, we may not be able to reverse. and we may not be able to adapt sufficiently. there is such a thing as being too late when it comes to climate change. [applause]

and that shouldn't make us hopeless, it's not as if there is nothing we can do about it. we can take action. over the past several years, america has been working to use less dirty energy, more clean energy, waste less energy throughout our economy. we set new fuel economy standards that mean our cars will go twice as far on a gallon of gas by the middle of the next decade. combined with more gas prices, these standards are on pace to save drivers on average of $700 at the pump this year. we doubled that on our investment in renewable energy. we're generating three times as much wind power, 20 times as much solar power as we did in 2008. these steps are making a difference.

over the past decade, even as our economy has continued to grow, the united states has cut our total carbon pollution more than any other nation on earth. that's the good news. [applause] but i am here to say that if we want to protect our economy and our security and our children's health, we're going to have to do more. the science tells us we have to do more. it has been our focus these past six years and it's particularly going to be our focus this month. in nevada later in august i'll talk about the extraordinary progress we have made in generating clean energy and the jobs that come with it and how we can boost that even further. i'll also be the first american president to visit the alaskan arctic where our fellow americans have seen their

communities devastated by melting ice and rising oceans, the impact on marine life. we're going to talk about what the world needs to do together to prevent the worst impacts of climate change before it's too late. and today we're here to announce america's clean power plan, a plan two years in the making and the single most important step america has ever taken in the fight against global climate change. [applause] pres. obama: right now our power plants are the source of about a third of america's carbon pollution.

that is more than our cars, our airplanes and our homes generate combined. that pollution contributes to climate change which degrades the air our kids breathe. but there have never been federal limits on the amount of carbon that power plants can dump into the air. think about that. we limit the amount of toxic chemicals like mercury and sulfur and arsenic in our air an water and we're better off for it. but existing power plants can still dump unlimited amounts of harmful carbon pollution into the air. for the sake of our kids and the health and safety of all americans, that has to change. for the sake of the planet, that has to change. so two years ago i directed gina and the the environmental protection agency to take on this challenge.

after working with states and cities and power companies, the bench e.p.a. is felting the first-ever standards of elimination of dumping pluge from power plants. [applause] here is how it works. over the next few years, each state will have the chance to put together its own plan for reducing emissions because ever state has a different energy mix. some generate more of their power from renewables, some from natural gas or nuclear or coal. this plan reflects the fact that not everybody is starting in the same place. so we're giving states the time and the flexibility they need to cut pollution in a way that works for them. and real reward the states that take action sooner instead of later because time is not on our side here. as states work to meet their targets, they can build on the progress that our communities

and businesses are already making. a lot of power companies have already begun modernizing their plants, reducing their emissions and by the way creating new jobs in the process. nearly a dozen of states have set up their own market-based programs to reduce carbon pollution. about half of our states have set energy efficiency targets. more than 35 have set renewable energy targets. over 1,000 mayors have signed an agreement to cut carbon pollution in their cities. last week, 13 of our biggest companies including u.p.s. and wal-mart and g.m. made bold new commitments to cut their emissions and deploy more clean energy. so the idea of setting standards and cutting carbon pollution is not new. it's not radical. what is new is that starting today, washington is starting to catch up with the vision of the rest of the country and by

setting these standards, we can actually speed up our transition to a clean safer future. with this clean power plan by 2030, carbon pollution from our power plants will be 32% lower than it was a decade ago and the nerdier way to say that is we'll be keeping 870 million tons of carbon dioxide pollution out of our atmosphere. [applause] the simpler laymen's way of saying that, it's like cutting every ounce of emission due to electricity from 108 million american homes, the equivalent of taking 166 million cars off the road. by 2030, we will reduce premature deaths by power plant emissions by nearly 90% and thanks to this plan, there will be 90,000 fewer asthma attacks among our children each year. [applause]

pres. obama: and by combining this with greater investment in our booming clean energy sector and smarter investments in energy efficiency and by working with the world to achieve a climate agreement by the end of this year, we can do more to slow and maybe eventually stop the cash quon pollution that is do -- carbon pollution that is doing so much harm to our climate. this is the right thing to do. i want to thank again gina and her time for doing it the right way. over the longest engagement process in e.p.a. history, they fielded more than 4 million public comments. they worked with states. they worked with power companies and environmental groups and faith groups and people across our country to make sure that what we were doing was realisic and achievable but still

ambitious. some of those people are here with us today. so tanya brown, wave, go ahead, there is tanya. [applause] tanya brown has joined up with moms across america to talk about the dangers climate change posed to the health of our children including tanya's daughter sunay. there is sunay right there. the doctor has in her career helped families whose lives are impacted are single day, doctor, thank you. [applause] sister joan marie steadman has rallied to help take on climate. thank you for your leadership. [applause]

she has a pretty important guy on her side as pope francis made clear this summer. taking a stand against climate change as a moral obligation, sister steadman is living up to that obligation every single day. let's be clear, there will be critics of what we're trying to do. there will be cynics that say it cannot be done. long before the details of this clean power plan were even decided, the special interests and their allies in congress were already mobilizing to oppose it with everything they've got. they will claim that this plan will cost you money even though this plan, the analysis shows will ultimately save the average

american nearly $85 a year on their energy bills. they'll claim we need to slash our investment in clean energy, it's a waste of money. even though they're happy to spend billions of dollars a year in subsidizing oil company. they'll claim this plan will kill jobs, even though our transition to a cleaner energy economy has the solar industry to just one example creating jobs 10 times faster than the rest of our economy. they'll claim this plan is a war on coal to scare votes. even if they ignore my plan to actually invest in revitalizing coal country and supporting health care and retirement for coal miners and their families, and retraining those were as for better paying jobs, and healthier jobs. communities across america are have been losing coal jobs for decades. i want to work with congress to help them. not to use them as a political football, partisan press releases are not going to help

those families. even more cynical, we have critics of this plan who were actually claiming this will harm minority and low income communities, even though climate change hurts those americans the most, who are the most vulnerable. today, an african-american child is more than twice as likely to be hospitalized for asthma. a latino child 40% more likely to die from asthma. if you care about low income minority communities, start protecting the air that debris -- the air that they breathe and stop trying to rob them of health care. [applause]

you can also expand medicaid in your state as well. [laughter] here is the thing. we have heard the same, stale arguments before. every time america has made progress, it has been despite these kinds of claims. whenever america sets clear rules and smarter standards for our air, water, our children's health, we get the same scary stories about killing jobs and businesses and freedom. it is true.

i am going to go off script here just a second. this is important, because sometimes we feel there is nothing we can do. tomorrow is my birthday. so i'm starting to reflect on age. and, in thinking about what we are doing today, i was reminded about landing in los angeles to attend a college as a freshman, an 18-year-old. it was late august. i was moving from hawaii. and i got to the campus and decided, i had a lot of pent-up energy, i wanted to take a run. after about five minutes, suddenly, i had this weird feeling that i could not breathe. and the reason was, back in

1979, los angeles still was so full of smog that there were days that people who were vulnerable could not go outside, and they were fairly frequent. and folks who are older than me can remember the cuyahoga river burning because of pollution, acid rain threatening to destroy all of the great forests of the northeast. and you fast-forward 30, 40 years later, and we solved those problems. but at the time, the same characters who are going to be criticizing this plan, were saying this is going to kill

jobs, this will destroy businesses. this is going to hurt low income people. it will be wildly expensive. and each time, they were wrong. and because we pushed through, despite those scare-mongering tactics, you can actually run in los angeles without choking. and folks can actually take a boat on on the river. and the forests are there. so we have to learn our history. the kinds of criticisms that you are going to hear are simply excuses for inaction. they are not even good business sense. they underestimate american business and american ingenuity. in 1970, when republican president richard nixon decided

to do something about the smog choking our cities, they wore the new pollution standards would decimate the auto industry. it did not happen, catalytic converters worked. taking the lead out of gasoline worked. our air got cleaner. in 1990, when republican president george h. w. bush decided to do something about acid rain, said the bills would go up come the lights would go off, businesses would suffer a quiet death. it did not happen. we country medic rain rapidly and it cost less than anyone expected because businesses, once incentivized, were able to figure it out. when we restricted leaded fuel in our cars, cancer-causing chemicals and plastics come it did not end the oil or plastics industry. american chemists came up with better substitutes. the fuel standards we put in place a couple years ago did not cripple automakers. the american auto industry retooled. today, american automakers are

selling the best cars in the world at a faster pace than they have in decades. more hybrids, plug-ins, fuel-efficient cars, giving consumers more choice than ever before and saving families at the pump. we can figure this stuff out, as long as we are not lazy about it. as long as we do not take the path of least resistance. scientists, citizens, workers, entrepreneurs, together as americans, we disrupt, hold debates, up-end old ways of thinking. right now, we are inventing new technologies, new industries. we are not looking backwards but looking forward to. if we do not do it, nobody will. the only reason that china is now looking at getting serious about its admissions is because they saw that we were going to do it, too.

when the world faces its toughest challenges, america leads the way forward. that is what this plan is about. [applause] pres. obama: i do not want to fool you here. dealing with climate change is hard in its entirety. it is challenging. no single action, no single country will change in the warming of the planet on its own. but today, with america leading the way, countries that represent 70% of the carbon pollution from the world's

energy sector have announced plans to cut their greenhouse gas emissions. in december, with america leading the way, we have the chance to put together one of the most ambitious international climate change agreement in history. and it is easy to be cynical and say climate change is the kind of challenge that is too big for humanity to solve. i am absolutely convinced that is wrong. we can solve this thing, but we have to get going. it is exactly the kind of challenge that is big enough to remind us that we are all in this together. last month, for the first time since 1972, nasa released a blue marble, a single snapshot of the earth taken from outer space. so much has changed in the decade between that first picture and the second. borders have shifted. generations have come and gone. our global population has nearly doubled.

but one thing has not changed. our planet is as beautiful as ever. it still looks blue. and it is as vast but also as fragile, as miraculous, as anything in this universe. the blue marble belongs to all of us. it belongs to these kids who are here. there are more than 7 billion people alive today. no matter what country they are from, no matter what language they speak, every one of them can look at this image and say, that is my home. we are the first generation to feel the impact of climate change. we are the last generation that can do something about it. we only get one home. we only get one planet. there is no plan b. i do not want my grandkids not to be able to swim in hawaii are not to be able to climb a

mountain and see the glacier, because we did not do something about it. i do not want millions of people's lives disrupted and this world more dangerous because we did not do something about it. that would be shameful of us. this is our moment to get this right believe something better for our kids. let's make most of that opportunity. thank you, everybody. god bless you. god bless the united states of america. thank you. [applause] c-span is partnering with the new hampshire union leader. in a few moments, we will get a preview of the forum with joe macclade, the publisher of the "new hampshire union leader."

the form will be 7:00 eastern time. and then viewers reaction at 9:00. >> 14 of the 17 republican president of candidates will take part in a voters first inum live from st. anselm manchester, new hampshire. c-span is partnering with media organizations to bring you tonight's event. you will be hearing from the candidates in about 30 minutes from now. we are going to help set the stage for you and learn more about the background. joining us is joe mcquaid. he is the publisher of the "new hampshire union leader." nice to see you.