Auditor General Eugene DePasquale Wednesday released the following statement after he joined elected officials, higher education officials and business leaders in signing the We Are Still In petition in support of the Paris Climate Change Accord:

“Article I, Section 27 of our state constitution – the Environmental Rights Amendment – states in part that ‘the people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment.’

“As a Pennsylvania elected official, I firmly believe it is my obligation to uphold our state’s constitution and be a trustee of our natural resources, and that is why I signed the petition in support of the Paris Climate Change Accord.

“Climate change is real. It was reckless for President Trump to back out of this historic agreement that was designed to prevent a global environmental crisis that could prove dangerous and costly to current and future generations.”

As a state representative in 2008, DePasquale was successful in securing passage of his Alternative Energy Investment Act, which allocated bond funding to support research, development and deployment of various climate change-friendly clean energy projects and technologies.

He also led the fight in the House of Representative to create a state Climate Change Commission at a time when there was lack of action at the federal level. The latest action by the Trump Administration shows the wisdom of that move.

As auditor general, DePasquale has continued his commitment to environmental protection by conducting the first-ever audit of the Department of Environmental Protection’s oversight of shale gas drilling.  The audit demonstrated his commitment to fight climate change.

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[Posted: July 12, 2017]

7/17/2017