For Immediate Release
Thursday, January 18, 2017
Contact: Max Rosenblum or Graham Roth
202.387.2800 | news@rac.org
WASHINGTON – This week, the State Department announced a $500 million installment toward President Obama’s $3 billion pledge to the Green Climate Fund. The Green Climate Fund is vital to helping developing countries adapt to the effects of climate change. In response, Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, issued the following statement on behalf of the Union for Reform Judaism, Central Conference of American Rabbis and wider Reform Movement:
We enthusiastically welcome Tuesday’s announcement of new funding for the Green Climate Fund. It is particularly timely in light of the announcement this week finding that 2016 was the hottest year on record. Our Jewish tradition commands us to be responsible stewards of the earth, “to till and to tend it” (Genesis 2:15).
As developing nations are hit first and worst by the effects of climate change, we must continue to prioritize adaptation and mitigation efforts. The United States’ pledge to the Fund of $3 billion over 10 years reflects our nation’s responsibility, as one of the world’s most significant contributors to global emissions, to be a caretaker of the planet and protect the most vulnerable.
We appreciate the leadership that the Obama Administration, including Secretary of State John Kerry, has taken to address climate change, and it is our hope that the incoming administration will prioritize climate justice and continue the United States’ commitment to the Green Climate Fund until the pledge is fulfilled.
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The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism is the Washington office of the Union for Reform Judaism, whose nearly 900 congregations across North America encompass 1.5 million Reform Jews, and the Central Conference of American Rabbis, whose membership includes more than 2,000 Reform rabbis. Visit www.rac.org for more.
