In a speech on climate change at Georgetown University today, President Barack Obama announced a comprehensive “Climate Action Plan” to reduce U.S. pollution responsible for climate change, better coordinate international efforts to solve the problem of climate change, and provide additional protection from the effects of climate change that have already begun. This plan comes not a moment too soon, since the effects of climate change are already being felt across the United States and the rest of the world.

In 2011 and 2012 the United States experienced 25 extreme weather events—storms, floods, droughts, heat waves, and wildfires—that each caused at least $1 billion in damages, with a total price tag of $188 billion. These events also claimed more than 1,100 lives. What’s more, the federal government has spent $136 billion over the past three years to help communities recover from these disasters—about $400 per household annually. Around the world, extreme weather events displaced 32 million people in 2012, causing not only tremendous human suffering but exacerbating global security concerns as well.

High temperatures continue to shatter records. 2012 was the 10th-hottest year on record for the entire planet since recordkeeping began in 1880, and it was the hottest year ever in the contiguous United States. Moreover, 10 of the hottest years globally have occurred over the past dozen years. Last year, for example, more than 40,000 daily heat records had been broken around the country by July 3.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, “an analysis of 2012 data indicates that [heat-related] deaths are on the rise [in the United States].” But climate change also threatens our health in other ways:

Pollen counts are growing, which makes asthma attacks more common.

Heat waves can increase urban smog, which also triggers asthma attacks and causes other respiratory ailments.

Ongoing drought is making food sources less secure, triggering human suffering and security concerns.

In sum, dealing with climate change is an opportunity to improve Americans’ lives and the overall economy. That’s why the president has proposed a comprehensive suite of tools to deal with this challenge. These tools are all based on years of research—both inside and outside government—and the evidence indicates that they will help reduce carbon pollution.

The following are some of the most important aspects of the president’s plan:

President Obama established a goal in 2009 of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions by 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. EPA reports, however, that we produced 7 percent less climate pollution in 2011. No single action can reduce carbon pollution sufficiently to meet the president’s goal.

As such, the president’s plan rightly includes many additional measures to reduce pollution, invest in energy efficiency and clean renewable sources of energy, and make our cities more resilient to future extreme weather events both at home and abroad. All of these actions can occur under existing law and without additional funds. But congressional support for providing additional revenue for investments in efficiency, renewable energy, and community resilience would yield less pollution, more health protection, and safer communities for all Americans and their children.

This plan is ambitious and will surely draw criticism from detractors. Addressing climate change, however, is the critical issue of our time. This plan begins to deal with the climate challenge and should move forward uninterrupted.

Richard W. Caperton is the Managing Director for Energy at the Center for American Progress. Daniel J. Weiss is a Senior Fellow and Director of Climate Strategy at the Center. Andrew Light is a Senior Fellow and Director of International Climate Policy at the Center.

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