On the US withdrawal from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, established in 1992 and including all other nations of the world as members: Reactive from Rabbi Jennie Rosenn, founder and CEO of Dayenu
In withdrawing from bedrock international climate agreements, President Trump is doubling down on fossil fuels, locking us into an increasingly dangerous and unlivable future. Our country will become hotter and drier, and climate disasters will become even more severe and frequent; corporations’ stranglehold on energy resources will tighten, delivering higher prices to consumers and enormous profits to fossil fuel executives; and systemic inequality and racism will deepen, as communities on the frontlines suffer increasingly from illness and premature death caused by toxic pollution.
President Trump’s reckless withdrawal is a shanda (shameful act) – demonstrating yet again how our country is acting against the collective progress we so desperately need. Nearly every other country – especially China and the European Union – are investing in the promise of clean energy solutions that will reduce greenhouse emissions and slow the heating of our planet.
Ironically – and tragically – at the same time as President Trump is isolating the US, he is violating international law and standards by invading other countries to plunder their resources.
To be clear, withdrawing from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is just the latest effort to prop up the fossil fuel industry and abort progress towards a more livable future. Having rolled back myriad climate regulations, eliminated the legal framework for curbing deadly emissions, denied and destroyed scientific climate data, and halted the development of wind and solar energy, President Trump is now pulling the US out of one of the most foundational international agreements to address the climate crisis.
While it’s no surprise, it is a violation of values that have guided our country since the beginning, and flies in the face of what Jewish communities hold dear. Rather than bowing to the demands of the fossil fuel industry and abandoning international climate efforts, we should be working to preserve life – a concept in Jewish tradition known as pikuach nefesh – and investing in solutions that will enable us to live and thrive l’dor v’dor, from generation to generation.