Ted Lieu raises alarm over biodiversity and climate change

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) on Wednesday said declines in biodiversity are a global concern that can be addressed at various levels of government.

Speaking at The Hill’s “The Loss of Nature: A Global Threat” event, Lieu said climate change has prompted an upheaval in biodiversity, with policies needed at the state, federal and international to address the problem.

“Climate change is an existential threat, not just to California or America, but to the entire world. And the way that we solve this is we get the rest of America to do what California did and the rest of the world to do what America hopefully will do soon,” Lieu told The Hill’s Steve Clemons.

“The good news is a number of countries are taking climate change seriously. I think they can all do more, but we’ve shifted in just a decade or so from a bunch of people denying that climate change even is happening to now people who are acknowledging it and that’s a very good first step,” said Lieu, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

.@RepTedLieu: “What we’re seeing are the effects of climate change and what scientists have been predicting for decade after decade…more extreme weather events resulting in loss of crops, extreme drought, and migration” #TheHillNature https://t.co/JL29OUgvKM pic.twitter.com/o738o9qI4e

— The Hill Events (@TheHillEvents) March 24, 2021

Lieu’s comments come as the Biden administration and congressional Democrats look to pass a sweeping infrastructure package that’s expected to include numerous environmental components, including provisions for renewable energy.

Lieu argued that California’s climate laws are not only good for the environment, they’re good for economic prospects as well.

“What we’re seeing is that when you take actions to make your water cleaner, your air having less pollution, and when you’re taking carbon and methane out of air, it actually improves the quality of people’s lives. It gets people to want to come to the state and it can generate green energy and green jobs,” Lieu said at the event sponsored by Natural Security.