George Washington University is joining more than 1,000 organizations and 142 cities across the United States in supporting a clean energy economy and prioritizing climate action in their operations.
World leaders came together on Dec. 12, 2015, to commit to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions in what became the Paris Agreement, so in celebration of the fifth anniversary of signing that treaty, President Thomas LeBlanc signed on behalf of GW the “America Is All In” statement on climate action. GW is one of 120 colleges and universities that signed the statement.
The document will be delivered to the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden, who has already committed to reentering the Paris Agreement that President Donald Trump withdrew the country from in 2017. The statement’s three key points are to:
- Drive economic growth across every sector of the economy through job-creating sustainable investments.
- Expand U.S. leadership on climate action at home and abroad.
- Reimagine community partnership to advance just and equitable climate solutions and build resilience to climate change.
The statement also was delivered to United Nations officials and other world leaders at the Climate Ambition Summit hosted in the United Kingdom.
“GW joins leading cities and institutions around the country to send a signal to the incoming Biden administration that we have been and still are committed to addressing climate change,” said Meghan Chapple, university director of sustainability. “With GW’s recently announced accelerated carbon neutrality date of 2030, the university is taking swift and decisive action to reverse the trends of climate change and disparate impacts on communities."
The “America Is All In” statement is organized by We Are Still In, which is a coalition supporting climate action and a pledge to uphold U.S. commitments to reduce emissions under the Paris Agreement. Among the cities across the country that have signed the statement are St. Louis, Milwaukee and Washington, D.C. Additionally, Fortune 100 companies, such as Intel, HP Inc., and McDonalds have signed on, as well as Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam.
