It’s past time for bold action on climate change. We are thankful for the Senate Special Committee on the Climate Crisis report, released today, titled "The Case for Climate Action." Addressing the climate crisis is crucial to safeguarding our families’ health and our children’s future. Without bold action, more communities across the United States will continue to be hit with more intense extreme weather, further-reaching wildfires, increased cases of vector borne diseases, and longer-lasting heat waves. The consequences of these devastating events have a lasting impact on lives, livelihoods, and local economies.
As the COVID 19 death toll approaches 180,000 American lives, we must remember that dirty air primarily caused by fossil fuels not only exacerbates COVID-19 but is also responsible for approximately 200,000 deaths each year in the United States. We must move forward with immediate action that purifies our air, returns our rivers and streams to a more pristine condition, and defends our children’s health. As evangelical Christians, we are commanded to care for “the least of these” (Matt. 25:40) and our prayer is that this report will spur Senate Republicans to get off the sidelines and work for durable, bipartisan action.
Fossil fuel pollution, the primary driver of climate change, endangers our children’s health and future. A recent study connects our warming climate to health threats for pregnant women and their unborn children, and these impacts are disproportionately borne among women of color. Jesus calls us to care for the most vulnerable among us. Low-income families, communities of color, and children—born and unborn—are among the most impacted and threatened by the climate crisis.
Through American ingenuity and innovation, we have the tools and knowledge to slow down climate change while cutting back on pollution, boosting our economy with clean and sustainable jobs, and making our communities safer and more resilient all at the same time. But a clear and comprehensive climate strategy is needed to put all the pieces into place. Today’s report represents a major step toward developing just such a plan.
For climate action to be truly lasting and effective, solutions must be bipartisan. Now is the time to come together around bipartisan solutions for a cleaner, brighter, and healthy future. Our God transforms bad into good, and we must do the same for our country. We encourage members from both sides of the aisle to carefully consider this plan and work together to develop robust, bipartisan climate solutions that create high-paying, stable jobs in a clean energy economy, protect the most vulnerable in our communities, and pass down a cleaner, safer, and healthy future to the next generation.
