Global Warming and Wildlife Legislative Priorities

Global warming poses one of the single greatest threats to wildlife and to the conservation efforts we have undertaken to date. Global warming’s impacts are changing, shrinking, and destroying habitat which requires wildlife to migrate or adapt and, in many cases, threatens their very existence. There is no remaining scientific debate: humans are causing global warming, wildlife is suffering, and it is past time to do something about it.

Defenders of Wildlife supports a national strategy for combating global warming that consists of two parts.


  • First, Congress must enact legislation that takes immediate steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to address the root cause of climate change.
  • Second, we must also adopt national legislation now to help wildlife navigate the complex threats global warming is and will continue to pose until the benefits of emissions reductions are achieved.

Get more facts on global warming and the impacts on wildlife.

June 6, 2008 – Breaking News

For the first time ever, a majority of U.S. Senators supported comprehensive climate change legislation (also called "cap-and-trade" legislation). While the Climate Security Act (S. 3036) failed to reach the 60 votes required, this vote still represents a strong step forward on the road to getting legislation enacted.

Indeed, 10 "climate converts" — Senators who have consistently opposed global warming cap-and-trade legislation — voted favorably today.

This bill would have established a declining annual limit on greenhouse gas emissions and provided the policy direction and investment necessary to help wildlife survive the unavoidable impacts of global warming. See Defenders’ press release on this key vote.

See our press release on this key vote.

Additional Resources


 

Global Warming Wildlife Survival Act

We must act now to increase wildlife’s resiliency in the face of global warming’s complex threats, so wildlife will survive until the benefits of reductions in global warming emissions take effect.

The Global Warming Wildlife Survival Act has been introduced in both the House and the Senate this Congress. Representatives Norm Dicks (D-WA-6), Jay Inslee (D-WA-1) and James Saxton (R-NJ-3) first introduced the Wildlife Survival Act (H.R. 2338). This legislation was included in the Natural Resources Committee’s section of the New Direction for Energy Independence Act (H.R. 3221) and passed by the full House last year. Unfortunately, the Wildlife Survival Act provisions were stripped in final negotiations on the energy bill and did not make it into law.

In the Senate, the Wildlife Survival Act (S. 2204) was introduced by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee. The Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act (S. 3036) has also incorporated many of this legislation’s principles in its natural resources adaptation provisions.

The Wildlife Survival Act section of this important bill ensures that government take action to protect wildlife and its habitat from global warming’s widespread impacts and that this problem receives the national attention it deserves.

Learn more about the Global Warming Wildlife Survival Act

Combating the Root Cause of Global Warming

Congress must pass meaningful, aggressive legislation to immediately reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Legislation that moves us away from fossil fuels, the largest source of greenhouse gas pollution, is an important part of the solution. To move away from fossil fuels we must increase energy efficiency, use more renewable energy sources and design cars that run cleaner and go further on a gallon of gas.