Friends of the Earth Remembers Rafe Pomerance, a Pioneer Who Helped Sound the Alarm on Climate Change

Today we mourn the passing of Rafe Pomerance, a towering figure in the environmental movement and one of the earliest and most tireless champions of climate action.  

Rafe joined Friends of the Earth in 1975 as a lobbyist for clean air, bringing the same relentless energy and moral clarity that would define his entire career. He rose to serve as president, leading Friends of the Earth from 1980 to 1984 with vision, determination, and an unshakable belief that the political will to protect our planet could be built — one conversation, one hearing, one coalition at a time.  

Long before climate change was a household phrase, Rafe understood its stakes. After encountering a government report in the late 1970s warning of the dangers of rising carbon dioxide levels, he did not look away. He picked up the phone, contacted scientists, convened meetings with policymakers, and refused to let the issue be ignored. That instinct defined everything he would accomplish over the next five decades.  

His fingerprints are on some of the most consequential moments in climate advocacy history: pushing for the landmark 1986 Senate hearings on climate change; playing a key role in shaping the1997 Kyoto Protocol; helping to negotiate a landmark U.N. treaty on global greenhouse emissions. He brought that same energy and persistence to the cause of Arctic preservation and continued to speak urgently about sea level rise until his passing. 

“Rafe was more than a strategist or a lobbyist. He was a force of nature—generous in spirit, infectious in his optimism, and unwilling to accept that the arc of history could not be bent toward action,” said Erich Pica, President of Friends of the Earth. “For all of us working to protect the environment, Rafe was a model of what it looked like to spend a life in genuine service to the Earth and its future generations.”  

Rafe served a number of organizations throughout his career, including the World Resources Institute, the Climate Policy Center, Arctic 21, the Polar Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences, Board of American Rivers, Board of the League of Conservation Voters, founder of the Climate Action Network and the Potomac Conservancy. He was also appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Environment and Development under President Bill Clinton. 

Rafe’s fight is not finished. The best way to honor his life and legacy is to carry forward with the same conviction and courage he showed us.