Take Action on the Paris Climate Agreement

On November 4, the Trump administration began taking formal action to start the yearlong process of withdrawing the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement. This agreement brings together almost 200 nations to address climate change through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, adaptation efforts, and climate finance.

The United States has historically used a disproportionate share of the global carbon budget and emitted the highest levels of greenhouse gases. It also has greater capacity to address climate change than developing countries, which have polluted far less. Exiting the Paris Agreement is an abdication of America’s moral responsibility to address climate change and protect vulnerable peoples.

Background

President Trump first announced his intent to withdraw from this Agreement two years ago. As people of faith, we disagreed then and we disagree now. Rising temperatures have a real and serious human cost, especially for the poor and vulnerable. This climate crisis is causing increased unprecedented and costly extreme weather events, melting of ice sheets and glaciers, increased desertification and loss of entire ecosystems. Experts predict that millions of people, possibly hundreds of millions worldwide, will be displaced from their homes by climate disruption.

The United States has a moral responsibility to remain a leader in the international effort to address the global issue of climate change.

Call your members of Congress and urge them to publicly oppose the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement.