. . And quite simply, this is no time right now for business as usual. If we’re going to lead on climate change, we shouldn’t grant American legitimacy for the pioneering of a particularly carbon-intensive form of energy at a time when we should be leading the world in a different and far smarter – and frankly, readily available – direction. That’s what we ought to be doing. (Applause.)

Already, four times as many Americans – get this, four times as many Americans – are employed by renewable energy companies today than are employed by the fossil fuel industry. Clean energy job growth is happening at double the rate of the economy writ large – and the solar industry is growing at 10 times that rate. Over the next 15 years, $17 trillion is expected to be invested in energy – and the vast majority of that in clean energy. This is one of the greatest economic opportunities the world has ever seen, and if we continue to make smart choices, American businesses and American workers stand to benefit enormously. With this in mind, last month I convened the Secretary’s Climate and Clean Energy Investment Forum with 300 of the world’s top investors, energy innovators, and public policy experts, all focused on expanding clean-energy development around the world. . .
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This is a military town. And when I was in the Navy we used to have a saying, and I’m certain it’s still used today: “Ship, shipmate, self.” Putting the greater good above one’s personal interests is second nature to most of our military men and women. And that sentiment has to guide our effort to overcome this global threat.. . . Hard choices sometimes. This is – should be a no-brainer because the benefits we get are living up to our legacy and living up to our obligation to be caretakers of the planet given to us, incidentally, by the scriptures of every major religion and every major philosophy of life.

This is our responsibility. . . .So how many benefits? Health, environment, legacy, security, energy independence – all of these things come with the benefit of doing this. And if we were wrong, we’d still have all of those benefits. But if the naysayers are wrong, catastrophe.

It shouldn’t be a hard choice, folks. We have a moral responsibility to protect the future of our nation and our world. That is our charge. That is our duty. And for our ship, for our shipmates, all of us, and for the generations that follow in their footsteps, we have to get this right.