Biden calls climate change 'one of the great challenges of our time'

In remarks on his administration’s response to wildfires and Hurricane Ida, President Biden called Thursday for support in his Build Back Better plan to invest in extreme weather preparedness to fight climate change, calling it “one of the great challenges of our time.”

Video Transcript

JOE BIDEN: The past few days of Hurricane Ida and the wildfires in the West and the unprecedented flash floods in New York and New Jersey is yet another reminder that these extreme storms and the climate crisis are here. We need to do-- we must be better prepared. We need to act.

When Congress returns this month, I'm going to press for further action on my Build Back Better plan. That's going to make historic investments in an electrical infrastructure, modernizing our roads, bridges, our water systems, sewer and drainage systems, electric grids and transmission lines, and make them more resilient to these super storms and wildfires and floods that are going to happen with increasing frequency and ferocity.

We're reminded that this isn't about politics. Hurricane Ida didn't care if you were a Democrat or a Republican, rural or urban. This destruction is everywhere. And it's a matter of life and death. And we're all in this together.

This is one of the great challenges of our time. But I'm confident we'll meet it. We're the United States of America. And there's simply nothing-- you've heard me say before-- nothing beyond our capacity when we work together.