--- title: Hawaii Senator: The Climate Deal Is Just the Start description: We need big ideas and bold action to deal with global warming canonical: https://time.com/4148688/climate-deal-brian-schatz/ author: Brian Schatz article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-15T15:58:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:49:25.888Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Sen. Schatz: The Climate Deal Is Just the Start og:description: We need big ideas and bold action to deal with global warming og:url: https://time.com/4148688/climate-deal-brian-schatz/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c1c718f841f2a66/69887551f887dc5553e93bba/schatz.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: Senator Brian Schatz, a Democrat from Hawaii, listens to a question during an interview in Washington, D.C., U.S., on May 7, 2015. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Sen. Schatz: The Climate Deal Is Just the Start twitter:description: We need big ideas and bold action to deal with global warming twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c1c718f841f2a66/69887551f887dc5553e93bba/schatz.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Sen. Schatz: The Climate Deal Is Just the Start > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs takes readers inside the newsroom, revealing the journalists, ideas and editorial choices behind the stories shaping the global conversation. 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A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ## Video: TIME Raw: John Kerry Says Planet Is Changing In "Alarming Ways" [Watch (HLS stream): TIME Raw: John Kerry Says Planet Is Changing In "Alarming Ways"](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/RBodJ4fI.m3u8) (1:02)  _Published 2015-12-09_ by [Brian Schatz](https://time.com/author/sen-brian-schatz/) ## Brian Schatz Dec 15, 2015 3:58 PM UTC  Senator Brian Schatz, a Democrat from Hawaii, listens to a question during an interview in Washington, D.C., U.S., on May 7, 2015. Senator Brian Schatz, a Democrat from Hawaii, listens to a question during an interview in Washington, D.C., U.S., on May 7, 2015. Bloomberg via Getty Images by [Brian Schatz](https://time.com/author/sen-brian-schatz/) ## Brian Schatz Dec 15, 2015 3:58 PM UTC On Dec. 12, 195 countries representing about 98% of global greenhouse gas emissions approved a [historic deal](http://time.com/4146764/paris-agreement-climate-cop-21/) to rein in climate change. The agreement marks a turning point in the fight to protect future generations against catastrophic warming, and it would not have been possible without the strength of American leadership. America’s brightest minds are charting a course to a clean energy future that will provide for our health, safety and prosperity. While some members of Congress have attempted to stall progress on climate change, their actions amount to little more than political theater. We will not abandon our responsibility to our children and grandchildren, nor will we cede global leadership on the defining issue of our time. No single country can solve this problem alone, but the U.S. has a critical role to play in the effort to stem climate change. By vowing to cut domestic carbon pollution by at least [26%](https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/03/31/fact-sheet-us-reports-its-2025-emissions-target-unfccc) by 2025, the U.S. laid the foundation for an international agreement. In the run-up to the negotiations, the world’s largest polluters—including China, India and the E.U.—all pledged to address their greenhouse gas emissions. Their commitments will prove vital to providing for the safety and well-being of the American people. Only through a global agreement will we stem global climate change. The American public understands this. [Two in three](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/01/world/americas/us-climate-change-republicans-democrats.html) Americans agree the U.S. should take part in an international agreement to limit global warming. [Three in four](http://climatechangecommunication.org/sites/default/files/reports/Politics%5Fand%5FGlobal%5FWarming.pdf) support regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant, including a majority of Republican voters. Americans are worried about climate change because they can already witness its effects. They see its signature in the drought in California, where [record heat](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-10/california-s-new-era-of-heat-destroys-all-previous-records) has dried the state’s fertile soil. They see it in the remnants of Superstorm Sandy, where [elevated sea levels](http://time.com/4013637/climate-change-hurricanes-impact/) extended the reach of coastal floods, destroying homes and inflicting billions in damages. They see it in my own state of [Hawaii](https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/state-reports/HAWAII%5FNCA%5F2014.pdf), where rising oceans are [eroding](http://seagrant.soest.hawaii.edu/sites/default/files/publications/smfinal-hawaiiclimatechange.pdf) beaches, cliffs and wetlands. In the face of such threats, Americans have no choice but to act. [California](https://www.gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=18938) and [New York](http://www.dec.ny.gov/energy/44992.html) are both aiming for dramatic reductions in carbon pollution by mid-century. Hawaii has set a goal of generating [100%](http://www.thenation.com/article/hawaiis-governor-dumps-oil-and-gas-in-favor-of-100-percent-renewables/) of its energy from renewable sources by 2045, and the state working hard to limit pollution from cars and trucks as well. At the national level, we have enacted smart policies like the Clean Power Plan, President Barack Obama’s initiative to limit carbon pollution from U.S. power plants. Americans know our only response in the face mounting risks from climate change must be the swift transition to a clean energy economy. We do not have the luxury of burying our heads in the sand. We are a nation that prides itself on our ability to triumph in the face of overwhelming odds. When President John F. Kennedy declared that we would send an astronaut to the moon, he said that would do it not because it was easy, but because it was _hard_. And his words spoke to something deep in our national character, a sense that no challenge lay beyond the ingenuity and determination of the American people. It’s that very spirit that animates our fight against climate change. We need big ideas and bold action to deal with global warming. There is no place for politicians who would surrender hope and ambition in the face danger and uncertainty. Now is the time for America to lead. ## Transcript You don't need to be a scientist, as some assert, to see that our planet is already changing in real, measurable, and alarming ways. Consider, the past decade, the hottest on record. The one before that The second hottest on record. The one before, the third hottest on record. 19 of the 20 warmest years in history have occurred in the past two decades. And this year is on track to be the warmest of all, including last July, which was the hottest month ever recorded. We can find a way to summon the shared resolve that we need, To tackle this shared threat, I'm confident we can rise above the debates that have dragged us down. Together we have the ability to reach the ambitious agreement that we desperately need. 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