News Release
Thursday, December 10, 2020
Contact: Sandy Bahr, Sierra Club - Grand Canyon Chapter: (602) 999-5790 sandy.bahr@sierraclub.org
On the 5th Anniversary of the Paris Climate Accord:
Arizona is still in!
(Arizona) – Today, Tempe Mayor Corey Woods; Sonja Klinsky, Senior Sustainability Scientist, Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation at Arizona State University; State Representative and Senator-elect Kirsten Engel; and Daniella Lopez, a 15-year-old youth climate leader from Mesa, joined a virtual roundtable to discuss the Paris Climate Accords (Accords) and what they mean for Arizona communities and families, as well as the importance of global participation in these Accords.
Sandy Bahr, chapter director for Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon (Arizona) Chapter, stated, “Today, at our roundtable, these four climate leaders made it clear just how important it is to work at every level to address the climate crisis, protect vulnerable populations, and make the U.S. and Arizona economy more sustainable and just, and also why our country should again be participating in the Paris Climate Agreement.”
This Saturday, December 12th, marks the 5-year anniversary of the landmark Accords that are aimed at limiting the impacts of climate change. Sadly, on November 4th, the United States officially left the agreement and abandoned our responsibilities to address climate change on the world stage. President-elect Joe Biden has said he will rejoin the Paris Agreement on day one, which will mark a drastic change in course on climate change policy in the United States.
Daniella Lopez, co-lead of the Youth Climate Coalition in Mesa, shared her thoughts on the need for climate action now and what it means to re-engage on the Paris Climate Agreement.
“But I see the light
The light that’s pulling me up from the hole were stuck in
I see the light
Hope
Hope is what I see
Hope is what I have for the world for that is all I can have.
I have hope that you’ll listen to me today
I have hope that you’ll take action
I have hope that you’ll listen to the ticking of the clock
We need to rejoin the Paris climate accord, for our health, for our rights, for our safety, for our life. And for the lives of all living creatures.
The clock is ticking
Listen to the ticking of the clock.”
Tempe Mayor Corey Woods discussed the important role of cities in addressing the climate crisis.
“If cities consume over 78% of the world’s energy and produce 60% of greenhouse gas emissions, then we have to be committed to driving the solutions. Here in the City of Tempe, we never stopped working towards our goal to be 100% renewable energy for city operations by 2035.”
The virtual roundtable can be viewed here.
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