Remarks for the World Biodiversity Summit, As Prepared for Delivery
Michael Regan
New York City, New York
Good morning, everyone! Thank you, Peter, for that introduction. It’s an honor to join you all.
I want you all to know how much I appreciate the tremendous work you are doing to help advance many of our shared environmental goals.
Every generation has its own defining challenge — one that shapes countless lives and impacts the future for decades to come.
Climate change is that challenge for us.
Because in every corner of our nation, Americans are seeing and feeling it’s devastating impacts.
From the uncontrollable wildfires out West, that have engulfed entire communities in a matter of hours, and forced families to abandon their homes and the lives they once knew...
To the devastating tornadoes throughout the Midwest and on the East Coast, causing people to lose their lives...and leaving only remnants of destruction in their path...
All while prolonged droughts threaten our food production...ocean warming fuels more catastrophic and destructive storms...and record high temperatures threaten public health...
It’s clear that we’ve reached a pivotal point in human history, and it’s on us to act now to protect our future.
And at EPA, we know that nature is the most critical infrastructure we have.
It provides the fundamental services needed to achieve our mission of protecting public health...restoring our ecosystems ...and creating resilient communities.
And across the federal government, nature-based solutions are wide-ranging and common – encompassing everything from practices that enhance natural processes...like green infrastructure and coastal restoration...to preserving natural features and ecosystem functions in wetlands, forests, coral reefs, and beyond.
President Biden and Vice President Harris understand that we must act now to protect our climate, which is why this administration has made the largest climate investment ever...investing billions of dollars to tackle climate change with the urgency it demands.
These investments are ensuring that we are building innovative and forward-thinking climate solutions from the bottom up, and not the top down...
And one of EPA’s most exciting and innovative climate programs is our $5 billion dollar Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program, which is helping implement community-driven solutions that reduce air pollution...advance environmental justice...and help accelerate America’s clean energy transition.
These grants will fund projects that protect public health...support environmental conservation...enhance our nation’s precious biodiversity...and chart a path toward unprecedented climate pollution reductions.
This program is funding innovative and resilient projects that make use of nature-based solutions like green infrastructure, urban forestry, and habitat restoration...
And through this program, states, tribes, and territories have created Climate Action Plans that now cover more than 96 percent of the US population...so that collectively, we can reduce our nation's carbon footprint and increase our resilience to climate change.
And through all of our agency’s work and programs, EPA encourages the consideration of nature-based solutions as a path towards climate change resilience...and our agency continues to play a leadership role by coordinating a government-wide initiative across the federal family to promote the implementation of green infrastructure.
But folks...while public funding and government action will play an integral role in tackling climate change and protecting our nation’s precious ecosystems...we know that those resources alone, ultimately, won’t allow us to achieve our goals.
Over the next few years, thanks to President Biden and Vice President Harris’ Investing in America agenda, our agency will continue making billions of dollars of capital available to the private sector, particularly those serving low-income and disadvantaged communities.
We each have different and complementary tools in our toolbox to bring to bear, and we want to support the innovative and transformative climate and nature-based solutions that forward thinkers like you are developing and advocating for.
Folks, this is our future we’re talking about...and we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to take real action on our climate...to protect the health of our communities...and to safeguard the beautiful natural world in which we all live.
Failure is not an option.
Indifference is not an option.
Inaction is not an option.
And let me be clear, it’s not about party affiliation or politics… it’s about uniting as a society...as a nation...as people...for the greater good of humanity.
Folks, EPA is all in.
We must get this right; we only have one planet, and you all will play a critical role in ensuring that we do.
Thank you!