President Barack Obama, who makes a major speech on climate change, becomes the most recent U.S. president to grace Georgetown’s historic Old North Building.

JUNE 25, 2013 PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA ROLLED out a major plan today at Georgetown to combat climate change by reducing greenhouse emissions and using renewable energy.

“Americans across the country are already paying the price of inaction, in insurance premiums, state and local taxes and the costs of rebuilding and disaster relief,” he said, referring to extreme weather events resulting from a warmer climate. “The question now is will we have the courage to act before it’s too late.”

He noted that power plants can now legally dump “limitless” amounts of pollution into the air without consequences.

“That’s not right,” he said. “It’s not safe and it needs to stop. Today for the sake of our children and the health and safety of all Americans, I am directing the Environmental Protection Agency to put an end to the limitless dumping of carbon pollution from our power plants and complete new pollution standards for both new and existing power plants.”

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