On November 4, the Trump Administration took action to formally withdraw the United States from the landmark Paris climate agreement, which was signed by 197 countries and which seeks to prevent catastrophic climate change through coordinated action. This commences a yearlong process to officially exit from the agreement. Today, ask your U.S. representative and senators to publicly condemn this move.
Since the Trump Administration first announced its intention to leave the agreement in 2017, the scientific evidence for climate change has only grown, painting an even more dire picture of the ecological and social effects of climate change that will occur even sooner than we previously thought.
Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, Sisters, and Lay Missioners also witness the growing evidence of climate change on the ground in the countries where they serve, such as more intense droughts in Central America and East Africa, fires in the Amazon and Indonesia, and powerful storms in Asia and the Caribbean. These climate-related events are exacerbating hunger, conflict and global migration. With this in mind, the Maryknoll Office of Global Concerns joined other faith-based organizations in condemning the U.S. withdrawal from the agreement, calling the move "unconscionable."
As the largest historical emitter of greenhouse gases, the United States has a moral obligation to work with other nations to prevent further climate change and to protect vulnerable people and ecosystems experiencing its effects first and worst.
Please email your members of Congress and urge them to publicly oppose the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement. Click here to take action.
Photo courtesy of CIDSE.