FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 9, 2021
Contact: Hannah Lee Flath, hannahlee.flath@sierraclub.org, 860-634-0225
CHICAGO, IL -- Today, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report on the status of climate change in 2021, which the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres described as a “code red for humanity,” saying, “this report must sound a death knell for coal and fossil fuels, before they destroy our planet.” The IPCC’s scientific findings will inform its next major climate report, currently expected in 2022.
In response, Sierra Club Illinois Director Jack Darin released the following statement:
“Today, the world’s top scientists are raising their voices in the most urgent call for action to date, as damage from climate change mounts across Illinois and the planet. This year alone, Illinoisans have faced record rainfall in Chicago, flash floods across the state, and record-breaking heat; while coal plants continue to pollute communities across our state.
“Governor Pritzker has proposed legislation that heeds the call of science in phasing out coal and gas plants in Illinois, but lawmakers have not returned to Springfield to act on the proposal. Today, we call on legislators to return to Springfield as soon as possible to put Illinois on a path to a fossil free future, and advance equity by creating generations of high-paying jobs and business opportunities building the clean energy we urgently need.
“Illinois is one of the top five states for carbon pollution and is home to the Prairie State coal plant, the 7th largest source of pollution in the United States. The time is now for Illinois to move from part of the problem to a big part of the solution to climate change by enacting Governor Pritzker’s proposal as soon as possible.”