November 20, 2019 | For Immediate Release:
Contact: Shravya Jain-Conti, sjain@climatenexus.org, +1 917-328-6973
U.S. LEADERS WILL SHOW UP IN FORCE AT U.N. CLIMATE TALKS DESPITE FEDERAL ACTION TO WITHDRAW THE U.S. FROM PARIS AGREEMENT
A Delegation Of 70+ American Leaders To Attend COP25, Stepping In To Fill U.S. Climate Leadership Gap On Global Stage We Are Still In will host U.S. Climate Action Center to highlight climate action from cities, states, businesses and other institutions
We Are Still In will host U.S. Climate Action Center to highlight climate action from cities, states, businesses and other institutions
America’s Pledge to release third annual report quantifying the impact of U.S. non-federal actors to drive down their greenhouse gas emissions consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement
NEW YORK, NY -- American leaders unveiled detailed plans today to host the U.S. Climate Action Center at the upcoming COP25 climate talks in Madrid, and announced a delegation of over 70 U.S. leaders who are stepping up as the federal government steps away from global climate leadership.
This delegation of American leaders will be larger than the official U.S. government delegation, and will include leaders from state, city and tribal governments, businesses, colleges and universities, healthcare and other institutions. Collectively, American leaders that are taking action in support of the Paris Agreement represent nearly 70% of U.S. GDP and nearly two-thirds of the U.S. population. The current list of the delegation can be found here.
In a joint statement, the delegation vowed to continue making progress towards meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement and outlined what they hope to accomplish by attending the U.N. climate talks. Several organizations, including Climate Action Reserve, The Climate Registry and Georgetown Climate Center, worked together to host and coordinate the delegation. At COP25, these leaders will meet with foreign governments, businesses and local leaders to share their efforts to meet the United States’ Paris climate targets and explore opportunities for collaboration to jointly raise their ambition further.
"The climate crisis and rising inequality are two of the largest challenges facing cities today. We need to continue to make advancements in reducing emissions, while preparing and adapting our communities for the challenges that lie ahead,” said Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto. “I will be in Madrid to join other American leaders from our universities, businesses, states, and institutions as well as cities from countries around the world that are focusing on a fair and just economic and energy transition. We must make sure that the voices of the growing number of Americans that are still supporting climate action and the voices of cities are heard."
This will be the third year in a row that We Are Still In will organize a Pavilion, in partnership with the U.S. Climate Alliance, Climate Mayors, America’s Pledge and other groups, to fill the U.S. climate leadership vacuum at the U.N. talks. It is also the third consecutive year that Bloomberg Philanthropies is providing leadership and financial backing to the U.S. Climate Action Center, a role usually fulfilled by the federal government under previous administrations. The Pavilion will open its doors on December 6th for four full days of programming to highlight U.S. climate progress to the international community and will host workshop and meeting space throughout the duration of the climate talks. Among the climate leaders confirmed to speak at the Pavilion are: Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes of Wisconsin, Fawn Sharp the newly inaugurated President of the National Congress of American Indians, and Mayor Bill Peduto of Pittsburgh, among many others.
The announcement of the U.S. Climate Action Center and the delegation for COP25 follows two weeks after President Trump began official procedures for withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Agreement (a process that takes a full year to take effect). As a result, the U.S. will officially stop being a party to the Paris Agreement on November 4th, 2020.
“As the Trump administration backs away from the Paris Agreement, leaders across America are keeping their commitments. There is growing demand for climate action in the U.S. and over three-quarters of Americans support staying in the Paris Agreement,” said Laurence Tubiana, who served as France’s Climate Change Ambassador and Special Representative to COP21 in 2015. “By showing up in Madrid, these American leaders are showing that climate action continues in every state and sector of the U.S.”
At COP25, America’s Pledge will release its third annual report, “Accelerating America’s Pledge: Going All-In to Build a Prosperous, Low-Carbon Economy for the United States.” This report analyzes the collective reductions of greenhouse gas emissions by U.S. states, cities, businesses, and other non-governmental entities and projects the level of carbon emissions reductions the U.S. can reach by 2030. This year’s report will be the first that outlines the path forward for U.S. climate progress at the non-federal and federal levels from 2020-2030, presenting a vision for a comprehensive, “All In” climate strategy in the U.S. — one that rapidly expands action from states, cities and businesses and adds additional ambitious action from the federal government starting in 2020 to understand what reductions are possible by 2030.
America’s Pledge has also found that the bottom-up coalition of U.S. cities, states, and businesses committed to climate action now represents 68% of the U.S. GDP — equivalent to the world’s largest economy other than the United States itself.
+++
About We Are Still In
Since We Are Still In launched in 2017, more than 3,800 leaders from America’s city halls, state houses, boardrooms, and college campuses have stepped forward to declare their support for the global solution to climate change. Spanning all 50 states — red and blue — they are demonstrating America’s enduring commitment to tackling climate change, ensuring a clean energy future, and upholding the Paris Agreement.
About America’s Pledge
In the wake of President Trump’s initial announcement that he planned to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement in June 2017, an unprecedented number of U.S. cities, states, businesses, and universities reaffirmed their commitment to help America reach its Paris climate goals. Whether through declarations like We Are Still In or new pledges and commitments of their own, these bottom-up actors are maintaining U.S. momentum on climate action in the absence of federal leadership. In July 2017, former New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and former California Governor Jerry Brown launched America’s Pledge, an initiative to aggregate and quantify the actions by U.S. states, cities, businesses, and other non-federal actors to drive down their greenhouse gas emissions consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement. Since its launch, America’s Pledge has published annual assessments of non-federal action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions based on a unique methodological approach developed by climate researchers and policy experts. To learn more about America’s Pledge, please visit www.americaspledge.com.
About Bloomberg Philanthropies
Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 510 cities and 129 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on five key areas for creating lasting change: Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s giving, including his foundation and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a pro bono consultancy that works in cities around the world. In 2018, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $767 million. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.