It is sharpening. Distants this was threat is very much in the presence. Present. The arctic is the leading edge of Climate Change. Whateading indicator of the entire planet faces. Arctic temperatures are rising about twice as fast as the global average. Over the past 60 years, alaska has warned about twice as fast as the rest of the United States. Last year was alaskas hottest year on record. Just as it was for the rest of the world. The impacts here are very real. Earth on whichhe 100,000 alaskans live threatening homes, damaging transportation and imagery infrastructure which can cause billions of dollars to fix. Rivers andns and migration of entire species threaten the livelihood of Indigenous Peoples and local economies dependent on fishing and tourism. Levels. Sea villages unprotected from floods and surges. Some are in imminent danger and some will have to relocate entirely. In fact, alaska has some of the with this shoreline erosions swift is shoreline erosions in the world. One alaska native told me many of our villages are ready to slide off into the waters of alaska. In some cases, there will be absolutely no hope. We would need to move many villages. Fire season is now more than a month longer than it was in the 1950s. At one point, more than 300 wildfires were burning at once. Southeast of here, pacific northwest, even the rain forest is on fire. Ine than 5 million acres alaska have been scorched by fire this year. An area about the size of massachusetts. Fires acrosse canada and siberia, we are talking 300 million acres. An area about the size of new york. This is a threat to many communities but also an men ande threat to the women who put their lines on the lives and lives on the line to protect us. Three firefighters lost their lives fighting a fire in washington state. Another has been a critical condition. We are thankful that each and every far wider firefight for their heroism including the canadian firefighters. Is climatepoint change is no longer some far off problem. It is happening here and now. Is alreadynge disrupting our agriculture and ecosystems. Our water and food supplies. Our infrastructure, human health, human safety. Change is aclimate trend that affects all trends. Trendsc trends, security , everything will be impacted. It becomes more dramatic with each passing year. Already it is changing the way alaskans live. And considering the arctics unique role in affecting the global climate, it will accelerate changes to the way we all live. Since 1979, the arctic has decreased by more than 40 . Decrease which is dramatically accelerated over the past two decades. Thatew study as a method the glaciers lose all 75 gigatons, 75 billion tons of ice each year. To put that in perspective, one scientist described a gigatons as a block the size of the National Mall in washington. Congress all the way to the lincoln memorial, four times as tall as the washington monument. Imagine. Thats what alaskas glaciers alone lose each year. The pace of melting is only getting faster. It is now twice what it was between 1950 and 2000. Just as fast as it was little over a decade ago. It is one of the reasons why sea levels rose about eight inches over the last century and why they are projected to rise another 14 feet this century. Well many of the fires burning today are actually burning through the permafrost in the arctic. This permafrost stores massive amounts of carbon. When the permafrost is no longer permanent, when it thaws or burned, these gases are released into our atmosphere. Over time and that coming to arctic might become a new source of emissions that further accelerate global warming. , temperaturesng in alaska are projected to rise between six and 12 degrees by the end of the century, triggering more melting and more of themore thawing permafrost. A negative feedback loop, the cycle, warming leading to more warming. We do not want to be a part of. Is climate is changing faster than our efforts to dress it. Address it. That must change. We are not acting fast enough. I have come here today as the largestf the worlds economy to say the United States recognizes our role in creating this problem and we embrace our responsibility to help solve it. And i believe we can solve it. That is the good news. Even if we cannot reverse the damage we have already caused, we have the means, the scientific imagination, and technological innovation to avoid irreparable harm. Know this because laughter for the first time in our history the Global Economy grew and global emissions stay flat. We are making progress, we are now making it fast enough. Here in the United States where trying to do our part. Since i took office 6. 5 years ago, the United States has made ambition investments in clean energy. Harness three times as much electricity from wind and 20 times as much from the sun. Alaskans lead the world in the development of wind systems from remote grids. It is expanding solar and biomass resources. We have invested in Energy Efficiency and every imaginable way. Our buildings, our cars, our trucks, our homes, even the appliances inside of them. We are consumers billions of dollars along the way. Here in alaska, more than 15,000 homeowners have cut their bills by 30 on average and that collectively saves more than 50 million each year. Builde helped communities infrastructure to prepare for the impacts of Climate Change we can no longer prevent. Announcedis month, i the first set of nationwide standards to end the limitless dumping from our power plants. The second most important step the u. S. Has taken on Climate Change. Over the course of the coming days, i intend to speak more about the particular challenges facing alaska and the United States as an arctic power. I tend to announce new measures. Intended to announce new measures. To do ourking hard part to meet this challenge. Doing so, where proven that does not have to be a conflict between a sound environment and a strong Economic Growth. But we are not moving fast enough. None of the nations represented here are moving fast enough. Honest. There is always been an argument a against taking action. The notion is it will curb our Economic Growth and at a time when people are anxious about , that is an argument often times for inaction. We do not want our lifestyles disrupted. Where there remain significant poverty including candy United States, the notion is can we really afford to prioritize decisions. The irony is few things will disrupt our lives as profoundly as Climate Change. Few things can have as negative impact on our economy as Climate Change. On the other hand, technology is where anyo the point economic disruption from transitioning to a cleaner more efficient economy is shrinking by the day. Clean energy and Energy Efficiency are not just proven costeffective, but also cost saving. Solar are coming down rapidly. Comingcosts of solar are down rapidly. We are still under investing. Men of americas biggest businesses recognize the opportunity and are seizing them. They are choosing a new route. Americanwing number of homeowners are choosing to go solar every day it works. All told, americas economy has grown 6 over the past 20 years but our Carbon Emissions are roughly back to where they were years ago. Less dirty to use fuel and grow our economy at the same time. But we are not moving fast enough. More americans everyday are doing their part thanks to their efforts, america will reach the emission target i set six years ago. We will reduce our carbon 17 byns in the range of 2020. And that is why last year i said a new target. America is going to reduce 26 to 28 by 10 years from now. A historicrt of joint announcement made laster in beijing. America will double the pays in china committed for the first because of the worlds two largest economies came together. We are seeing other nations stepping up aggressively as well. Make suremined to American Leadership continues to drive international action. We cannot do this alone. Even america and china alone. Annot do it all the countries represented around here cannot do it alone. We have to do it together. This year in paris has to be the year that the world finally reaches an agreement to protect the one planet we have got while we still can. Let me sum up. We know human activity is changing the climate. That is beyond dispute. Everything else is politics. People are denying the facts of Climate Change. We could have a legitimate debate about how we are going to address this problem, we cannot deny the science. We also know the devastating consequences if the current trend continues. That is not deniable. And we are going to have to do some adaptation and we are going to help communities be resilient because some of these we were not been to stop on a dime. We not going to bed. Tomorrow we are not the baby to stop tomorrow. If the trend continue the way they are, theres not going to be a nation on this earth not impacted negatively. People will suffer. Economies will suffer. Nations will find it , severees under severe problems. More drought. More floods. Rising sea levels. Greater migration. More refugees. , more conflict. That is one path we can take. Embrace theth is to human ingenuity that can do something about it. This is within our power. It is a solvable problem. If we start now. Enoughre starting to see consensus is being built internationally and within each that we may have the political will finally to get moving. The time to heed the critics and cynics and deniers has passed. Ignorance islead surely passed. Those who want to ignore the science, they are increasingly alone. They are on their own shrinking island. So [applause] president obama lets remember beyond the climate benefits of , theresilient energy byproduct of it is we make our air cleaner. And a safer for children to breathe. We are also making our economies more resilient to Energy Shocks on global markets. Were making our countries less reliant on unstable parts of the world. We are gradually powering a planet on its way to 9 billion humans in a more sustainable way. These are good things. Simply a danger to be avoided. An opportunity to be seized. But we have to keep going. We are making a difference but we have to keep going. We are not moving fast enough. If we abandoned our course of action and stop trying to build a clean air economy and do nothing to keep glaciers from melting faster in oceans for rising faster and storms from growing stronger, we will condemn our children to a planet beyond their capacity to repair. Fields nocities, longer growing and Indigenous People who cannot care of traditions that stretch back millennia. Entire industries of people who cannot practice their livelihood. Desperate refugees seeking the sanctuary of nations not their own. Political disruption that can trigger multiple conflicts. That is not a future strong Economic Growth not where freedom and human rights are on the move. Leader willing to take a ,amble on a future like that any socalled leader who does not take this issue seriously or treats it like a joke, is not fit to lead. Im a this issue of all issues, there such a thing of being too late. Issues,is issue of all there is such a thing of being too late. That is why we are here today. That is what will convey tar people, tomorrow, the next day and the day after. That is what have to do with we meet in paris later this year. It will not be easy. There are hard questions to answer. I am not trying to suggest that there are not going to be difficult transitions we all have to make. But if we unite our highest aspirations and if we make our best efforts to protect this net for future generations we can solve this problem. You leave this conference center, i hope you look around. Hope you have a chance to visit a glacier. Or just look out of your airplane window as you depart and take in the godgiven majesty of this place. For those of you flying to other parts of the world, do it again when you are flying over your home countries. Willd yourself that there come a time when your grandkids and mine, if im lucky enough to have some, want to see this. They want to experience this just as with gotten to do in our own lives. Lives freee to live from fear and want and parol. Peril. Ask yourself if you are doing everything you can to protect it . Are we doing everything to make their lives safer and more prosperous . That we care about and their longterm futures. Not just shortterm political expediency. I had a chance to meet with some native peoples before i came in here. And they described for me villages that are slipping into the sea. Place. Changes taking changing migratory patterns. Na so that wasau used to feed the animals that they would in turn hunt or fish are beginning to vanish. Today, butt for them that that is the future for all of us if we do not take care. Your presence here today indicates your recognition of that. But it is not enough to just have conferences. It is not enough to just talk the talk. We have got to walk the walk. Weve got work to do. And we have got to do it together. Thank you. And may god bless all of you and and thank alaska for your wonderful hospitality. Thank you. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, please remain in your seats until announced delegation departures. Chris president obama wrapping up the first of his three days in alaska speaking to the glacier arctic conference that included an audience of Foreign Ministers from many nations. The first of a couple of days of his visit, firsttime visit for president obama. She will be the first sitting president to travel north of the arctic he will be the first sitting president to travel north of the Arctic Circle in the next few days. [applause] Associated Press reports that the president s tour continues and the national park. President obama staying in alaska through wednesday of this week. The citys tour working with our affiliates. This weekend we are joined by Charter Communications to learn more about the history and literary like of grand junction, colorado. Mining a sermon road that had an importance in this part of colorado. All over the Colorado Plateau and especially here, were surrounded by rock. We find a lot a dinosaur bones and fossils. That has really intrigues scientists for a long time. The only thing we find in. Orrison is a mineral, i rock it contains three different elements. It contains radio, which is radioactive and used by marie curie to help solve and fight cancer. And as an radio used a strength zanadium used to strengthen steel. It was of extreme value. And the uranium. Uranium as we know is one of the best sources for atomic power and weapons. Wass colorado congressman largely responsible for this areas Agricultural Development through his legislation. She fought to the battle to reserve water for western colorado by making sure that we got our fair share. How did he do that . Careerng in his state and then going on to his federal career he climbed up with the latter of seniority and was able to exercise more power than you might normally have. Certainly in the United States congress where he was able to make sure colorado and western colorado would be treated fairly and any divisions of water. His first major success was the passage of the Colorado River storage project in 1956. And next, a former state Department Consultant talks about women in afghanistan. Spoke about the progress of afghan women since the fall of the taliban. This event was hosted in santa barbara, california. [applause] ms. Ponticelli wow. Quitet think i ever had such a warm and wonderful introduction and a want to thank my very good friend judy, who has been such a support and inspiration to me also for so many years now for the great here innow she does out this beautiful part of our country and i cannot tell you how honored i am to be here and to have another dream come true to be back in santa barbara. It is really almost like the ark of my life having kind of cut my teethcal and policy during the reagan administration. I never dreamed i would get out here. I never dreamed i would see the reagan ranch, which was such a moving experience for me on saturday. Man i had the seen the man as the head of ronald reaganelt as the man, the genuine person that he was and remains for all of us who work for him, who knew him and loved him. Here i am today speaking in the reagan room of this beautiful place named, of course, for another great american, seth parker, someone whom i loved as a kid growing up. Burke at theatt white house once and saw Davey Crockett when he king in. Daniel byrne is good too. Nother chaptert of my life. I am so pleased to be here today, talking about one ongoing chapter of my life. One way, i feel like those American Express commercials. Do you know me . Most people know me as the committee director. I am also a professor at Catholic University but really a huge part of my life i call my pro bono work. It is the volunteer work, the ongoing work i do with and for the wonderful women of cause itan, a first became involved in in september of 2002. On september 9, 2002, i began a new job at the u. S. Department of state heading at the International Womens issues office and as you can imagine, the cause of the woman in afghanistan was issue and priority number one. At that point, i probably have trouble still finding afghanistan on the map. I guess a lot of americans would have had a hard time. I certainly had never, ever before although i have been to Different Countries and regions never met anyone from afghanistan. I even must confess that i dont ofnk i have ever known anybody from the islamic faith. Me. As completely new for i was