Download Trump Petition - Catholic Climate Covenant

CatholicClimateCovenant.org  (202) 756-5545  415 Michigan Avenue NE, Suite 260  Washington, DC 20017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
15,000 Catholics Petition President Trump on Climate Change
Washington, D.C. – March 15, 2017 – 15,000 Catholics have signed a petition to President Trump asking that his
administration honor the Paris Agreement, contribute to the Green Climate Fund, and implement the Clean Power
Plan. The petition is being advertised today in The Hill and CRUX.
Following publication of the petition to President Trump, Catholic Climate Covenant Executive Director Dan Misleh
said, “People of faith and goodwill recognize that climate change destroys human life, injures human dignity, and
undermines human security – especially of the poor and vulnerable. Support for the Paris Agreement, Green Climate
Fund, and Clean Power Plan are three important ways that the United States can respond to ‘both the cry of the
earth and the cry of the poor,’ as Pope Francis calls us to in his encyclical Laudato Si’ (no. 49).”
The petition is organized by the Catholic Climate Covenant and endorsed by seventeen Catholic institutions and
communities: Benedictine Monks of Weston Priory, Vermont, Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach,
Conference of Major Superiors of Men, Dominican Sisters Conference, Dominican Sisters of Blauvelt, NY, Donnelly
College, Franciscan Action Network, Global Catholic Climate Movement, Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart, Ignatian
Solidarity Network, Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, Leadership Conference of Women Religious,
Maryknoll Office of Global Concerns, Rosemont College, Siena College, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, and Xavier
University.
The appeal outlines the support of Pope Francis and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for climate change
policies, and then asks the President to:
1. Maintain the United States’ moral leadership on climate change by honoring the Paris Agreement (COP21)
and taking swift action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions between 26 and 28 percent compared with 2005
levels by 2025;
2. Support sustainable development and address the underlying causes of migration by honoring the United
States’ initial pledge of $3 billion and further supporting the Green Climate Fund to help poor countries
adapt to the effects of climate change;
3. Support job creation and economic opportunity by encouraging states to craft plans to reach and exceed
their Clean Power Plan carbon reduction goals by transitioning to renewable energy sources like wind and
solar power and enacting energy efficiency and conservation standards.
Publication of the petition comes three weeks after the Catholic Climate Covenant released a letter signed by 125
Catholic leaders in support of the Clean Power Plan. Signatories to that letter included college and university
presidents, women and men religious, theologians, and Catholic non-profit directors.
For more information: [email protected]; 202-756-5545; http://www.catholicclimatecovenant.org
Catholic Climate Covenant inspires and equips Catholic persons and communities to care for creation and care for
the poor. Through our sixteen national partners, we guide the U.S. Church's response to climate change by
educating, giving public witness, and offering resources.
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Members United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: Department of Justice, Peace, and Human Development & Migration and Refugee
Services  Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities  Carmelite NGO  Catholic Charities USA  Catholic Health Association of the
United States  Catholic Relief Services  Catholic Rural Life  Columban Center for Outreach and Advocacy  Conference of Major Superiors of
Men  Franciscan Action Network  Global Catholic Climate Movement  Leadership Conference of Women Religious  National Federation for
Catholic Youth Ministry  National Council of Catholic Women  Sisters of Mercy of the Americas