MEPs Cuffe and O’Sullivan say it’s a day for Renewed Hope.Green Party MEPs Ciarán Cuffe and Grace O’Sullivan have today welcomed the inauguration of the 46th President of the United States, saying the day marks the beginning of a new era of hope. Green Party MEP for Dublin Ciarán Cuffe said:“Hope is back in Washington. In these dark hours, we welcome the changing of the guard in the United States Capitol. However, democracy remains under threat in the United States, and in Europe. “Joe Biden gets it. Kamala Harris gets it. They want to tackle injustice. They want to match our European Green Deal and address the climate emergency. Let’s welcome back the United States to the Paris Agreement. We welcome the appointment of John Kerry as US Climate Envoy. There is a lot of work to be done.”Speaking of the appointment of Vice President Kamala Harris, Green Party MEP for Ireland South Grace O’Sullivan said today is also a historic day for women:“Kamala Harris represents the very best of what America can be. She can be a voice for diversity and the heralding of a modern, more inclusive era. Today we move on from an administration that represented a dark time in modern history, and look with renewed hope at what America can be. “The United States of America was founded on hope and inclusion. There are huge challenges ahead. But with Joe Biden’s announcement that he will be bringing the US back on board with the Paris Agreement, I see a man who is in touch with what’s happening in the wider world, and who recognises the urgency of the global climate and biodiversity crisis we are in. Let’s hope he takes this a step further and throws his support behind the Green New Deal so that Europe and the US can be united in our aspirations and ambitions.”The new administration will, says Ciarán Cuffe, re-ground the United States in its founding principles:“Let’s build a new transatlantic partnership and link climate action to racial justice, and tackle poverty in Baltimore, in Brussels, and in Dublin. Martin Luther King said: “We are not satisfied and will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.” Those words ring true, as they did half a century ago.“Today, there is a ripple of hope. I’m Irish, but my mother was from Chicago. I wish the new administration well. Ireland and the EU are your friends. We won’t always agree, we’ll call you out when we don’t, but today is a good day, a day of hope.”ENDS