US must meet climate obligations, despite Trump

U.S. must meet its climate obligations, despite Trump Administration’s anti-science agenda

Friends of the Earth U.S. urges governments at United Nation’s COP 23 to treat administration as the climate pariah it is

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the annual Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change begins tomorrow in Bonn, Germany, Friends of the Earth U.S. is urging the world to treat the Trump Administration as the climate and human rights pariah that it is.

“Trump is trying to escalate fossil fuel use while people around the world are already dying as a result of climate change,” said Erich Pica, President of Friends of the Earth U.S. “Governments and civil societies at the COP should not bend a single millimeter to Trump’s dangerous, anti-science, inhumane agenda.”

The U.S. government formally notified the UN of its intent to withdraw from the Paris Agreement last August, and its multilateral policies officially seek to increase deployment of fossil fuels globally. The U.S. has also reneged on $2 billion of a $3 billion commitment to the United Nations Green Climate Fund, with Donald Trump himself erroneously disparaging the fund at a White House press conference.

“Regardless of the anti-science positions of Trump and his petroleum-soaked cabinet, U.S. climate obligations have not simply disappeared because of a change in the White House,” Pica continued. “The U.S. still must drastically reduce its emissions and provide the requisite funding to help developing countries address the climate crisis, commensurate with what science and equity demand.”

“Trump is more than just a global embarrassment – he’s a danger to our planet and everyone living on it. But the U.S. is also full of good people. We are working together to purge the stain of Trump and replace it with a socially and environmentally just system where the U.S. does its fair share in the global climate movement.”

Expert Contact: Karen Orenstein, (202) 222-0717, [email protected]
Communications Contact: Erin Jensen, (202) 222-0722, [email protected]

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