As part of his commitment to the environment and to address the impacts of climate change, spokesman for the New Progressive Party delegation to the House of Representatives, Carlos “Johnny” Méndez Núñez, announced the establishment of a working group (Task Force ) aimed at evaluating legislation and comprehensive reforms that meet needs and promote all aspects related to global warming in the Puerto Rico archipelago.
Méndez Núñez has appointed the representative for District # 17 of Aguadilla and Moca, Wilson Román López, to lead the Task Force. The representative for District # 4 of San Juan and an expert on energy issues, Víctor Parés Otero, and the representative for District # 38 of Carolina, Canóvanas and Trujillo Alto, Wanda del Valle, will also be members.
“The effects of climate change, including global warming, are real. We may differ in their size, but denying that they exist is no longer an option for anyone, on the contrary, the sooner we accept that reality, we can develop a public policy to mitigate the impact of this effect on our people ”, said the former chairman of the House of Representatives.
The Task Force is appointed to commemorate the Global Day of Action for Climate.
“The challenges of climate change for Puerto Rico are many, starting with the lack of abundant rainfall. During the last two decades (2000-2010 and the present, 2011-) the number of dry spells has doubled compared to the previous 40 years. In the 1980s, only three drought events were recorded on the island. In the 1990s there were five, including two of the longest in our history, and also in 1994, the driest in Puerto Rico since 1934, ”added the leader of the new progression.
One of the Task Force’s responsibilities is to develop strategies to deal with increasingly longer and pronounced droughts, and to plan when it will rain, which experts say will be more extreme, which will exacerbate the effects of flooding and erosion. coast, among others.
The Fourth Climate Assessment, Volume II, published in 2019 by the United States Program for Research on Global Change, a report – required by Congress – devotes a chapter exclusively to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, an area called the American Caribbean. In the three previous editions, information about the region was included in the chapter for the Southeastern United States.
It is also the first time it has been published in English and Spanish. The report describes what we know, climate change is real and we need to take action.
When Méndez Núñez chaired the House of Representatives, he first established a committee to address this situation, the Special Commission for the Study of Climate Change and Global Warming.
“In particular, we want to evaluate what can be done to reduce the impact of climate change on the coasts, infrastructure, ecosystems, economic development, tourism industry and preparation of public safety elements in light of the new challenges of atmospheric phenomena; the proposals and formulation of the public energy policy of our archipelago, in particular that aimed at reducing dependence on fossil fuels and promoting the creation and use of organic fuel, its utilization ”, he concluded.