President Barack Obama on Wednesday vowed a new push for action on climate change, saying the United States had a duty to come together to curb emissions in the wake of megastorm Sandy.
In his first news conference since his decisive re-election on November 7, Obama said he planned a “conversation across the country” in the coming months to find common ground after a failed effort on climate change at the start of his term.
“I am a firm believer that climate change is real, that it is impacted by human behavior and carbon emissions. And as a consequence, I think we’ve got an obligation to future generations to do something about it,” Obama said.
Obama acknowledged that his stance on climate change would require an “education process” and “tough political choices” but insisted that his push was compatible with efforts to bring more jobs to the still-wobbly US economy.
“If, on the other hand, we can shape an agenda that says we can create jobs, advance growth and make a serious dent in climate change and be an international leader, I think that’s something that the American people would support,” Obama said.
“You can expect that you’ll hear more from me in the coming months and years about how we can shape an agenda that garners bipartisan support and helps move this agenda forward,” he said.
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