Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate, Senator Kerry. Senator Lugar, Senator Lieberman, thank you for your leadership and initiative. Thank you very much for your invitation to meet with the esteemed members of the Senate. And even though he is not here, I'd like to thank sincerely Senate majority leader, Senator Harry Reid, who could not attend, unfortunately.

In less than a month from now, the leaders of the world will gather in Copenhagen . They must conclude a robust, global agreement that can serve as a foundation for a climate treaty.

From what I heard today, there is great support in the Senate for action on climate change. I am very much encouraged by all your strong support and commitment and leadership with which you will address climate change. But for some, there are lingering doubts about whether we can afford to take action during this hard economic crisis.

Of course, there will be costs associated with tackling climate change. But these costs pale in comparison with the cost of not taking action. Inaction will mean a weakened economic recovery, a loss of global competitiveness, increased global instability and further human suffering. A global agreement on the other hand will unleash investments that will do more than any single other action could do to jumpstart and sustain global economic recovery. The other concern I heard was that whether nations will do their share. I have heard these same concerns in many other different capitals around the world. This is in fact why we need to have an international agreement, which will be comprehensive, binding, equitable and fair.

I also told the senators that the world is not standing still. There are many countries that are moving quickly down a clean energy pathway, creating thousands of new jobs and positioning themselves for growth in the global marketplace.

I thank again the United States government, particularly President Obama who has been taking great initiative and leadership role and such a great commitment to address this climate change bill. I am encouraged by his willingness, which he signalled yesterday, to participate in the Copenhagen meeting, No country is more important than the United States in resolving this climate change issue. All eyes of the world are looking to the United States and to this august body, the U.S. Senate. Copenhagen offers us all an unprecedented opportunity. We must use our time before that historic gathering for maximum effort.

Thank you very much.