April 22, 2023
On Earth Day, let’s celebrate the gift of creation and embrace transformation – of our relationships with Earth and one another. The time to change is now!
The needs are urgent, as the latest IPCC report describes.
Scientists say the world is likely to pass a dangerous temperature threshold within the next 10 years – unless we make dramatic cuts in our use of fossils fuels and invest in renewable energies.
Last year, at the annual U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt, countries agreed to establish a fund to respond to climate-related loss and damage. The fund creates a lifeline for climate-vulnerable countries for whom climate change is today, not tomorrow, like Chad, Somalia and Bangladesh.
But the loss and damage fund still needs funding and focus!
Take Action Now: Tell Pres. Biden to center the needs of climate-vulnerable countries in the UN climate loss and damage fund.
It’s impossible to overstate how serious the moment is for climate action, and how important the loss and damage fund is for vulnerable people and places.
Right now, there is a “transitional committee” collecting recommendations from countries on how to put the new loss and damage fund into action. A member of the Office of the Special Envoy for Climate at the U.S. State Department represents the United States on the committee, which is expected to deliver its final recommendations at the next UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai in November.
Voices from climate-vulnerable countries tell us that they need the United States to stand in solidarity with them and offer constructive, forward-focused recommendations and credible finance solutions.
Scroll down to raise your voice for our brothers and sisters in climate-vulnerable countries.
Thank you.
Photo: Maryknoll missioners at the Peoples Climate March in New York City, 2014.