Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) said on Sunday that climate change is “pounding on the door” after a scoring heat wave has gripped much of the United States this summer, breaking some records.
In an interview on ABC’s “This Week” with Martha Raddatz, Inslee warned of the dangers of climate change, while praising the Biden administration and calling on states to do more to tackle the problem.
“The climate change problem, the fuse has been burning for decades, and now the climate change bomb has gone off. The scientists are telling us that this is the new age. This is the age of consequences because whatever we thought of climate change last year, we now understand that the beast is at the door. We knew this beast of climate change was coming for us, but now, it’s pounding on the door,” Inslee said.
Inslee, who ran for U.S. president in 2020 on a platform that prioritized climate change, also said the effects of climate change are on display around the world and it’s become clear that changes are accelerating rapidly.
“What the scientific community is telling us now, is that the earth is screaming at us, and that is the situation. I talked to a leading international scientist the other day who told me that we knew this was going to happen to us, but it’s happening to us maybe two decades earlier than we really thought,” he said.
While Inslee praised the progress made, noting that homes and vehicles are increasingly becoming electric, he stressed the importance of stopping the use of fossil fuels, saying it is the “only solution to this massive assault on humanity.”
“So, there’s two parts to this story. This thing is now the age of consequences. The bomb has gone off. But we do have the ability to restrain fossil fuels if we make the commitments we need to. And I’m glad that we’re in a state that’s doing that,” he said.
Inslee further stressed the importance of states acting individually, noting the progress his state has made. He also praised the Inflation Reduction Act’s provisions advancing the development of green energy.
“This is not just something for the federal government. States can act. Our state is acting. We have 23 states in the U.S. Climate Alliance. And this is necessary,” Inslee said. “We’ve had tremendous action under President Biden’s leadership with the Inflation Reduction Act. And, unfortunately, the Republicans are trying to repeal that now. But we need to go further and faster. And states can go further and faster. And we are doing that.”