Today, the United States formally rejoined the Paris Agreement. Many of our team were present in Paris in December 2015, because Citizens’ Climate volunteers around the world seek the benefits of a future free from climate emergency. US leadership on the world stage is critical for realigning incentives globally and making it easier to secure a livable climate future.
Leaving the Paris Agreement put the future of the American people at risk in many ways. This is why since 2017, we have seen American communities, businesses, cities, and states, step into the climate leadership void, and set an example of locally rooted, action-driven leadership. As US Climate Envoy John Kerry said in Marrakech, in his last climate address as Secretary of State: “No one should doubt the overwhelming majority of the American people… who are committed to fulfilling and going beyond our commitments.”
We welcome the Biden administration’s clear-headed, science-based, all-of-government approach, and President Biden’s recognition today that “This is a global, existential crisis, and we’ll all suffer — we’ll all suffer the consequences if we fail.”
Our team, along with allies around the world, will work with all who lead in building back better, for a future that is climate-smart, in which the right to resilience is prioritized and protected.