Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi has accused Republicans of treating the climate crisis like “it’s all a hoax”.
Pelosi made a surprise appearance at the climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh where the US delegation is attempting to remain upbeat about continued progress on dealing with global heating despite uncertainty over the midterm election results on Thursday.
According to reports, the trip to Egypt may be one of Pelosi’s last as a speaker, with most forecasts predicting Republicans will eke out a narrow majority in the House.
At the summit, Pelosi said that there has been a disagreement on the subject” of the climate crisis between the parties, adding that Republicans have said “Why are we having this discussion? There is no climate crisis. It’s all a hoax.’ We must get over that. This is urgent, long overdue”.
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In her words, “we cannot just have any political disagreement or the power of the fossil fuel industry cramping our style as we go forward with this, but to show a path that gets us to where we need to be”.
Pelosi’s appearance at Cop27 is said to have come at a critical point for the future of democracy in the US as well as the future of the planet.
Recall that Joe Biden was able to pass the country’s most significant piece of climate legislation this year because Democrats have the majority in both the House and the Senate.
And with that set to change, the mounting anger at the US for obstructing meaningful global climate action, despite being the world’s largest polluter and richest country, may only get worse.
A Democrat from Florida who chairs the House subcommittee on the climate crisis, Kathy Castor predicted that Republicans would axe her committee should they gain power.
“They have not really been partners in tackling the climate crisis, and it’s inexplicable because the world’s top scientists tell us we are running out of time,” Castor said.
Biden is expected to appear at Cop27 on Friday even as a delegation of his cabinet members have already descended upon Sharm el-Sheikh to stress to other ‘sceptical countries that the US will still be engaged in fighting global heating even if Republicans do secure Congress.
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
