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Steven J. McCormick is the president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy. Since becoming president in 2001, he has transformed the Conservancy into the world’s largest environmental organization with operations in all 50 states and more than 30 countries. He also sits on several boards, including the Harvard Dialogue Group Advisory Panel and the Advisory Board of the U.C. Berkeley College of Natural Resources.   Get Involved Join the Conservancy's online community and you can explore new places, receive email you want and build your own personalized nature page! Go Deeper The Link between Forests and Climate Change Find out how The Nature Conservancy is demonstrating the effectiveness of protecting and restoring forests in reducing carbon emissions that lead to climate change, and why such projects are an integral part of the climate change solution. We Want to Hear from You Tell us what you think about our climate change work. What national or international policies should be implemented to fight climate change?

U.S. Senators John Warner (R, VA) and Joseph Lieberman (I, CT) have today outlined a Senate bill that, if enacted into law, would be a step toward curbing climate change and its effects on people and nature.

We commend Senators Warner and Lieberman for their commitment to enacting strong climate legislation. The thoughtful outline released today indicates that the senators are on track to write a bill that would help to address climate change and would be beneficial for conservation.

Not only will climate change affect every one of us, it has also begun to threaten many of the major accomplishments of the conservation community to date. As temperatures continue to rise, many animals, plants and natural areas are at grave risk, with serious implications for our citizens and industries that rely on them for food, for water, and for life. 

Protecting natural areas and the wildlife that inhabits them from the threat of climate change isn't just good conservation sense. It's good economic sense. And it's common sense. We applaud the Lieberman-Warner draft for reserving the necessary funding to do this.

The strong limits on emissions included in the outline reflect not just a significant U.S. commitment, but also one that we believe is achievable and is certainly warranted by the magnitude and scope of this global challenge.

Protecting forests and other natural landscapes around the world will also be a crucial element in a successful global strategy to minimize emissions. Deforestation, especially in the tropics, is contributing one-fifth of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Ensuring appropriate credit for activities to reduce this threat can and should be a part of U.S. legislation, and can be achieved within the market-oriented framework of a cap and trade program.

We look forward to working with the senators as they develop this bill, with the goal of assuring that final legislation provides critical protections for nature and the people who depend on it.

Steven J. McCormick
President and CEO
The Nature Conservancy

Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Mark Godfrey/TNC (forests of Sierra Madre, Mexico); Photo © Mark Godfrey/TNC (Steve McCormick, president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy).