Dear John,
While we await the results of the presidential election, there is one fact we know already. Tomorrow, on November 4, the Trump administration will officially withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement. The U.S. will be the only country in the world to formally leave the global pact.
This unfortunate step only heightens the implications of today’s election. The President-elect will ultimately determine if the U.S. rejoins the Paris Agreement or remains out of step with the vast majority of the world, and indeed, the majority of Americans. But no matter what happens, thousands of investors, companies, cities, states and other non-state actors remain committed to achieving the accord’s ambitious goal of limiting global temperature rise to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The climate crisis is the greatest human, environmental, economic and financial threat of our time. In this time of tremendous uncertainty, we must not lose sight of our shared goals as we continue to drive forward ambitious, economy-wide climate solutions. Today and going forward, Ceres stands with investor and business leaders from across the country that have already declared, “We Are Still In” and who are ready to declare, “We Are Back In” the Paris Agreement.
We hope you will stand with us too. |
Even in 2020, in the midst of Covid-19 and an economic recession, we’ve seen the largest U.S. investors and companies—as well as state policymakers from coast to coast—commit to ambitious climate action in line with the historic Paris Agreement and the net-zero emissions economy already underway.
We’ve also seen further evidence that the devastating and deadly impacts of our rapidly warming planet transcend geographic and political boundaries. From the wildfires in the West to the hurricanes in the South, these disasters have made it clear that we must immediately mitigate the climate crisis and support the frontline communities who stand in harm’s way. There is no more time to wait. Policymakers on both sides of the aisle and at all levels of government must come together and act.
The good news is that U.S. states continue to lead the way in advancing policies that accelerate our transition to clean energy and clean transportation. We hope that soon we will see the federal government step up to the plate. And given the scale of the challenge we face, we also need financial regulators to do their part and drive large-scale behavior and systems change, so we can all reap the economic, health and social benefits from new jobs and improved air and water quality.
Here’s the bottom line: Climate change is not partisan, nor is it political. It threatens every business of every size and every population in every state. Regardless of the election results, we will continue to strengthen the economic case for bold climate and environmental justice policies at all levels of government, and to push for a just and inclusive recovery. |
