140 Jewish Leaders Vow To Back Paris Climate Goals

Biggest Issue is Earth: The changes ravaging the planet are the biggest issue facing voters this November. Image by getty images

By JTA July 7, 2017

(JTA) — Over 140 Jewish leaders signed a letter encouraging Jewish institutions to support the goals of the Paris climate accord.

“We call upon all Jewish federations, JCCs, synagogues, camps, day schools, Jewish organizations, leaders, businesses, and community members to identify ways in which we, the organized and powerful American Jewish community, can and must respond to this climate crisis,” read the letter, which was released Thursday by the nonprofit Hazon and the Pearlstone Center.

The letter calls for Jewish leaders to backthe specific goals laid out in the Paris Agreement, which include lowering carbon emissions by at least 26 percent over the next seven years and encouraging employees to produce less harmful emissions.

The letter’s signees include Steven Wernick, CEO of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism; Robert Bank, president and CEO of the American Jewish World Service; Cheryl Cook, the executive director of Avodah, and Sharon Alpert, president and CEO of the Nathan Cummings Foundation.

“As Jews, we are also proud of our long history of economic innovation and entrepreneurship, so we are baffled by the false premise that withdrawing from the Paris Accords somehow prioritizes American jobs,” the letter reads. “On the contrary, our 21st century economy is driven by new energy technologies and our solar sector already far surpasses coal.”

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