Sierra Club Statement On The Conclusion Of The COP24 UN Climate Negotiations

KATOWICE, POLAND -- Today, the 24th annual UN Climate Negotiations (COP24) concluded. During the talks, countries met to hash out the details of the Paris Agreement rulebook, which will provide guidance for the implementation of the landmark climate deal.

To date, Donald Trump is still the only world leader to announce his intent to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement, which entered into force on November 4, 2016, has been signed by every nation on earth. The earliest Trump will be able to complete his withdrawal from the deal is November 4, 2020, one day after the next U.S. Presidential election.

In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune released the following statement:

“There’s simply no debate; fossil fuels have no place in a liveable future. While Donald Trump may seek to further isolate the U.S. on the world stage, leaders from across the globe continue to work together to tackle the climate crisis. At a time when science makes it clear that we have only 12 years to deeply cut carbon pollution to avoid climate chaos, the climate negotiations have continued to bring the world together to move towards a sustainable climate and healthy communities.

“Following yet another year of devastating and historic hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and droughts, it has been the unstoppable power of people that has continued to drive climate progress, from retiring more than half of the U.S. coal fleet to moving cities to 100 percent clean energy. The American people are joined by the rest of the world in signaling that they will not tolerate any more of Trump’s shameful blustering and inaction, and they have taken up the mantle of climate action while Trump abdicates any semblance of global leadership. The Sierra Club is proud to continue to join with allies in the movement driving that progress and ensure the transition to clean energy leaves no one behind.”

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Despite the Trump administration’s inaction on climate, progress has continued to march on in the halls of the COP24 climate negotiations and beyond. Here’s a short recap of some of  the progress the world made over the past two weeks that you may have missed:

• Over 300 elected officials from 40 U.S. states released a letter calling for a Green New Deal and an end to fossil fuel use.

• Cincinnati, Ohio became the United States’ 100th city to transition to 100 percent clean energy. The current total for cities committed to 100 percent clean energy is up to 102, meaning over 15 percent of the U.S. population now lives in an area that is Ready For 100.

• 1,000 groups announce that they’re divesting $8 trillion in assets out of fossil fuels.

• Washington Governor Jay Inslee introduced a new bill to transition the state to 100 percent clean energy by 2035.

• Colorado’s Xcel Energy announced ambitious plans to eliminate carbon emissions by 2050.

• London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced that he’s moving up the timeline for the city to become carbon neutral to 2030.

• Canada announced that they will have a more ambitious climate pledge by 2020.