Working towards climate solutions is a struggle that many city and community leaders regularly encounter. Research consistently shows that investments in renewables help to improve local economies, grow jobs, and make cities better places to live. For communities though, what is often missing is the moral imperative to act on climate change. This is the message that Pope Francis hopes to bring to the United Nations later this week.
In yet another landmark speech on climate change, the Pope will bring a message of optimism with a strong call to action. His address comes as the globe is on track to experience record temperatures, inevitable sea level rises, and increasingly common climate related disasters. Fortunately though, political discourse on climate change is slowly evolving, as more and more leaders recognize that inaction is no longer an option.
City and community leaders offer the greatest hope for leading a successful fight against climate change. By sharing resources, learning effective methods of communicating about climate, and by collaborating with like-minded leaders, real progress can be made. As Pope Francis brings hope to the United Nations, mayors and community leaders must transform that hope into action.
Pope Heads to Climate Talks as Rare Word — Optimism – Surfaces
By Alex Nussbaum | Bloomberg News | September 18, 2015
Optimism’s not a mood usually associated with global warming.
Yet when President Barack Obama, Pope Francis and other world leaders start gathering in New York next week, they’ll be in sight of a goal that seemed unattainable just a few years ago: an agreement that may actually slow the pace of rising temperatures.
The Pope will address the United Nations on Sept. 25 and is expected to pick up where he left off in a June letter to the world’s Catholics, making the moral argument for attacking climate change. Two days later, Obama will meet with leaders from China, Germany, France and close to 40 other nations, hoping to give a push from the top for a deal to rein in greenhouse gases.
