NAACP “Deeply Disappointed” On U.S. Withdrawal From The Paris Agreement on Climate Change
Baltimore, Md. – The NAACP says it is deeply disappointed by President Donald J. Trump announcement that the United States will withdraw from the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
NAACP’s Statement:
“Despite this disastrous step backwards for our nation, the NAACP resolves to not only do its part to adhere to the tenets of the Paris Agreement, but also to continue to fight for environmental justice.
“There’s no way around it – this decision by the Trump Administration is not only a rejection of the undeniable science that has proven climate change exists, but also will send our nation and our planet down a path that will only lead to catastrophic destruction. In these dark times, one thing is for certain: the United States may be out of the Paris Agreement, but the NAACP is going to be all in for equity and our environment, now more than ever before,” said Leon W. Russell, chairman of the Board of Directors.“
The NAACP asserts that anything less than a 100-percent commitment of adherence to the Paris Agreement is a flagrant and callous disregard of the urgent mandate to protect our people, and our planet,” said Jacqueline Patterson, director of the NAACP’s Environmental and Climate Justice Program. “Low-income African-American neighborhoods will be among the most affected by exiting the Paris Agreement. Increased carbon dioxide emissions can cause extreme and unprecedented weather conditions, which can potentially devastate communities as we saw during Hurricane Katrina. The United States is the world’s second-largest emitter of carbon dioxide emissions, only behind China. Our country should be showing model leadership and ending the politicization of climate change, rather than continuing to turn its back on African-Americans in the name of corporate greed and dependence on fossil fuels.”
“The NAACP has had a delegation at the United Nations Climate Talks since 2009 when our Environmental and Climate Justice Program was established, and we voted unanimously in support of the Paris Agreement resolution. Today, we pledge to remain active members of these talks, and to hold our country accountable in a forum of its national peers as the voice of the U.S. electorate,” Russell continued. “The NAACP also plans to increase and deepen our mitigation and adaptation work until every state and every one of our branches is engaging on stemming the tide of climate change, and preparing communities for the impacts that are already being felt.”
Across the nation, NAACP Branches and Chapters are already advancing the tenets of the Paris Agreement with a view towards even more ambitious aims than those espoused in the agreement, by ensuring that all climate mitigation and adaptation action is centered in equity and justice:
