WASHINGTON– Delaware Secretary of the Environment and Energy Collin O’Mara joined U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) for a roundtable discussion in the Capitol on Wednesday to discuss the economic impacts of climate change and efforts to mitigate and adapt to its effects. The meeting, which featured leaders from a broad range of industries and communities, focused on the importance of investments to strengthen the resilience of our infrastructure, utilities, and major industries against the effects of climate change. Secretary O’Mara highlighted the findings of Delaware’s statewide Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment and the investments the state is making to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase community resilience to extreme weather.
“I was pleased to be able to introduce our own Delaware Secretary Collin O’Mara to a gathering of 15 senators today at our Steering and Outreach Committee,” Senator Coons said. “It was a meeting to consider the impact of climate change on our home states and on our country. Secretary O’Mara, under Governor Markell’s leadership, has lead a remarkable effort in Delaware to study, to understand, and to be prepared for the potential impacts on our businesses, our communities, our environment, and our future. We had a robust conversation, and I think it is just the beginning of a whole series of conversations here in the Congress about what we at the federal level can learn from important initiatives at the state level. It was great to have a Delawarean highlighted in today’s discussion.”
“Over the past few years, Delaware has taken great steps to make ourselves more resilient to storms and flooding and other types of extreme weather,” Secretary O’Mara said. “Today we were talking with some of the leading senators in the country about how we can take something successful in Delaware and replicate it, and also bring in additional federal assistance to make sure we can continue our efforts to ensure that every community—whether it be Southbridge in Wilmington or Oak Orchard down in Sussex County— is prepared for the challenges ahead.”
The Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee is dedicated to fostering dialogue between Senate Democrats and community leaders from across the nation. Each year, the Steering Committee hosts several meetings with advocates, policy experts, and elected officials to discuss key priorities and enlist their help in the development of the Democratic agenda in the Senate.
As the lowest mean elevation state in the country, Delaware is especially vulnerable to the growing effects of sea level rise. In April, Senator Coons went to the Senate floor to highlight the work of the Delaware Sea Level Rise Advisory Committee. Those remarks can be seen and read here: http://1.usa.gov/11hv3pT