By Green America, Special for USDR
Green America’s Green Business Network is urging the Trump Administration to keep the United States in the Paris Climate Agreement. This historic agreement includes commitments from countries worldwide that are responsible for 97 percent of emissions, and would result in an estimated reduction of temperature increases from seven to five degrees Fahrenheit worldwide. These temperature reductions will help avert some of the worst impacts of climate change, and reduce impacts on the American economy and its people.
The Paris Climate Agreement is also producing strong benefits for the US economy and businesses right now. An analysis by Environmental Entrepreneurs found that there currently are more than 2.5 million Americans working in clean energy and energy efficiency jobs in all 50 states, including over 400,000 people in the clean energy sector alone. Meeting the commitments of the Paris Climate Agreement will expand the number of high-paying clean energy and energy efficiency jobs nationwide, many of which are with small businesses. It will support local economies in all states. In addition, it will reduce climate impacts that are particularly costly to a wide range of small businesses that are least able to afford disruptions in their supply chains or in the communities they serve.
“Staying in the Paris Agreement should be common sense from any perspective,” says Green America Executive Co-Director for Business, Investing and Policy Fran Teplitz. “The Agreement is already spurring the development of clean energy and energy efficiency jobs across the U.S., and will position the United States, and small businesses nationwide, to be leaders in the rapidly growing clean energy economy.”
“The Paris Climate Agreement is essential to protecting America’s economy,” says Green America Executive Co-Director for Consumer and Corporate Engagement Todd Larsen. “If we don’t take concrete steps towards reducing our emissions, as outlined in the Agreement, small businesses – from farmers, to tourism, to importers – are going to experience sizable hits to their bottom line. Small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy, and we can’t afford to put them at risk, especially when we have the solutions to climate change available to us, and those clean energy solutions actually cost less and produce more jobs than dirty energy.”
ABOUT GREEN AMERICA
Green America is the nation’s leading green economy organization. Founded in 1982, Green America (formerly Co-op America) provides economic strategies and practical tools for businesses and individuals to solve today’s social and environmental problems. www.GreenAmerica.org
SOURCE Green America
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