USCCB-CRS Letter to Secretary of State Pompeo on Paris Agreement, November 14, 2019

USCCB-CRS Letter to Secretary of State Pompeo on Paris Agreement, November 14, 2019, signed by Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, Chair, Committee on International Justice and Peace, Bishop Frank J. Dewane, Chair, Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, and Sean L. Callahan, President and CEO, Catholic Relief Services

We write to you regarding our country’s responsibility for advancing environmental protection and addressing climate change. The Paris Agreement is a concrete pledge affirming our shared responsibility to care for the planet. It signifies international recognition that the ecological crisis imperils the entire human race, especially the most vulnerable communities who contributed least to the crisis. When it comes to protecting the environment and life on earth, “a global consensus is essential for confronting the deeper problems, which cannot be resolved by unilateral actions” (Laudato Si’, no. 164). 

Unfortunately, even the most advanced economies on the planet have collectively struggled to achieve the targets of the Paris Agreement. Without aggressive improvements in technology and policy innovation, the goals of the Agreement run the risk of ringing as hollow rhetoric. At this time, when nothing short of an ‘energy revolution’ is needed to meet our global ecological challenges, to withdraw from the Paris Agreement forfeits U.S. leadership. 

Addressing energy executives earlier this year, the Holy Father stated that the global energy transition represents “the greatest leadership opportunity of all, one that can make a lasting difference for the human family, and one that can appeal to your boldest dreams and ideas.” As countries struggle to meet their emissions reduction goals, the challenge to deliver clean energy is an opportunity for American ingenuity and economic leadership to demonstrate that we can get the job done. Multiple bipartisan carbon pricing bills have been introduced in Congress and cutting-edge energy research initiatives are already underway on American soil; the Administration should support these efforts.

USCCB-and-CRS-Letter-to-SEC-Pompeo-on-Paris-Agreement-2019-11-14.pdf