Urge Congress to Support a Green Climate Fund

From Interfaith Power and Light (http://interfaithpowerandlight.org):

One of the most insidious things about global climate change is its essential injustice: It inflicts the most damage on those who did the least to cause it.

From the low-lying Maldives to famine in East Africa, the world’s poor are bearing the brunt of climate impacts. As Americans, and as people of faith, we are obliged to advocate for those whose lives and livelihoods are threatened, and who cannot advocate for themselves.

But we can take action that will both support people on the front lines of climate change and reduce carbon pollution: contribute America’s fair share to the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

More than 30 countries have pledged $10.2 billion to get the fund up and running, and the first projects are already beginning. But we need to do our part and deliver on the U.S.’s promise of $3 billion over several years.

Go to http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/o/50836/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=18747 to tell your members of Congress: $750 million for the Green Climate Fund is essential to combating global climate change!

People in developing countries suffer disproportionately from climate disasters that threaten their health and livelihoods. The GCF was conceived to help poor and vulnerable countries adapt to the unavoidable impacts of climate change like sea level rise and extreme weather events, and also to mitigate it by investing in renewables and building more resilient societies.

Large emitters of carbon pollution like the U.S. have an obligation to act. If CO2 had a color, there would be a lot of red, white and blue in the sky. Developing countries need funds to move forward with sustainable clean energy and to avoid the dirty fossil fuels that created the current crisis.

With your help we achieved a “Christmas miracle” at the end of last year, getting bipartisan Congressional support for $500 million for the GCF in the omnibus appropriations bill. Projects like solarizing Rwanda and storm-proofing schools in Bangladesh have already begun. Now the president has requested $750 million for the 2017 Fiscal Year budget. To maintain U.S. leadership in addressing the global climate challenge, Congress must approve this request.

In contrast to the $22 billion a year on direct subsidies to fossil fuel companies, $750 million is a small-but-critical investment to ensure vulnerable communities are prepared to avoid the hard-hitting impacts of climate change.

Please contact your members of Congress today to ensure the U.S. does its part for climate justice. Click here to make your voice heard now.