WHO: Concerned Chicagoans outraged by the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord, Sierra Club Illinois, American Federation of Government Employees Local 704 representing EPA Region 5 employees, Faith in Place, Chicago Jobs with Justice, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Illinois, Food and Water Watch
WHAT: Emergency rally protesting the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement. Protesters will march from Trump Tower to the Thompson Center, calling on Governor Bruce Rauner to join governors across the country in upholding state responsibilities under the Paris Agreement by creating a state Clean Power Plan to reduce carbon emissions
WHEN: Friday, June 2, 2017 at 4:30 PM CT
WHERE: At the corner of Michigan Avenue and East Upper Wacker Drive, with Trump Tower in view
BACKGROUND: Yesterday, Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement. According to the terms of the Agreement, no country can begin the withdrawal process until three years after the Agreement enters into force and the withdrawal would not take effect for one year after that date. The Agreement, which entered into force on November 4, 2016, has been signed by every nation on earth except war-torn Syria, and Nicaragua, which would like it to be even stronger. Since the Agreement came into force and Trump began to waver, dozens of countries -- including India, China and the EU -- have reaffirmed their commitment. The earliest the U.S. will be able to complete the withdrawal is November 4, 2020, one day after the next U.S. Presidential election.
President Obama’s Clean Power Plan required states to create plans for reducing carbon emissions. Despite President Trump’s Executive Order halting the Clean Power Plan, and now his announcement of the exit from the Paris Climate Agreement, Illinois scientists, elected officials and climate activists are calling for Governor Rauner to go forward with creating a plan to reduce carbon emissions in Illinois. Governors in California, New York and Washington yesterday announced the formation of a Governor’s alliance continue aggressive American action on climate change and to uphold the goals and standards of the Paris Agreement.
A recent Yale Program on Climate Change Communication poll found that nearly 70 percent of Americans, including a majority in all 50 states, support the U.S. participating in the Paris Agreement. Businesses like Disney, Walmart, Amazon, ExxonMobil and more have decried the Trump administration’s decision to exit the Paris Climate Agreement.