New Hampshire towns such as Alstead have faced increased flooding in recent years. (epa.gov)

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By Lily Bohlke

November 5, 2021   

CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire officials are among those heading to the annual international climate summit, and they are urging the U.S. to make good on its commitments.

Groups want Congress to pass federal climate legislation and for President Joe Biden to declare a national climate emergency.

Rep. Timothy Horrigan, D-Strafford, said at the state level, efforts to combat climate change have hit walls in New Hampshire. He hopes the state will accept any available federal funds and start taking the necessary steps.

“It doesn’t matter how high the Dow Jones Industrial Average is if the planet is dying or not habitable for us human beings,” Horrigan asserted. “I’m afraid we’re nearing that point.”

The Biden administration’s Build Back Better framework includes more than $500 billion in investments to curb climate change. Groups say the investments are urgent, but more still will be needed to address the existential threat.

Alex Cornell du Houx, former state representative and president of Elected Officials to Protect America, said during his time in Afghanistan, he witnessed first-hand the impact water and other resources can have during times of conflict.

“Conflicts across the world are due to climate and water-security issues,” Cornell du Houx explained. “What’s happening, unfortunately, is it’s becoming a threat multiplier, that the U.S. is very insulated in many ways against, but it’s also coming to the U.S. in much more grave manners.”

He added the U.S. is becoming more exposed to issues over water rights, migration due to climate change as well as increased storms and wildfires costing billions over time.

World leaders concluded their speeches earlier this week and agreed to work to reduce deforestation and methane emissions. A vote on the Build Back Better Act should come any day now in the U.S. House and then will go to the Senate.

References:  COP26 conference United Nations 2021
Build Back Better framework White House 10/28/2021