Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks Following The Historic Ratification Of The Kigali Amendment To The Montreal Protocol

Washington, D.C. –  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor after yesterday’s Senate vote to ratify the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which will help create new American jobs, spur investments in U.S. businesses, and fight against climate change. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks:

Yesterday was truly a high point for the U.S. Senate. After years of bipartisan work, the chamber ratified one of the most significant pro-climate, pro-jobs measures that has ever come to the floor, the Kigali Amendment. I thank the senators from Delaware and New Jersey, the senators from so many other states who worked so hard to make this happen.

Ratifying the Kigali Amendment—along with passing the Inflation Reduction Act—is the strongest one-two punch against climate change any congress has ever taken. Thanks to our commitment to phase out HFCs, we’ll put ourselves in a position to lower global temperatures by half a degree Celsius by the end of the decade. So many people have overlooked this, but it’s a truly significant milestone; half a degree will have an enormous—an enormous—impact on the global scale.

The Kigali Amendment will also help American businesses secure an edge against China in the emerging industry of next-generation refrigerants. This market will see most of its growth outside the U.S., and Kigali will make sure that U.S. businesses will be able to take advantage of the new opportunities that will yield billions in new investments. And best of all, we will create tens of thousands of good paying jobs along the way.

So once again, ratifying Kigali is a win-win-win: a for U.S. jobs, a win for U.S. investment, and a win for U.S. leadership to protect the planet. I thank my colleagues for their excellent work in pushing Kigali finally over the finish line.

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