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Adapted from Episcopal News Service
President Donald Trump on March 28 signed an executive order instructing regulators to rewrite rules aimed at curbing carbon emissions and other environmental regulations at the center of the previous administration’s policies to combat global warming.
Thirteen bishops from across the Episcopal Church issued a statement in response to Trump’s executive order:
We live in a time of unprecedented global change spanning scientific discovery, technological innovation, and human development. This extraordinary moment offers an equally unprecedented opportunity to leverage our abundant resources for positive and scalable societal impact. As bishops of the Episcopal Church, we believe that climate change menaces the lifeblood of our economy, our national security, and the very future of humanity and that of many other species, and the United States of America must rise to the occasion to confront this enormous threat, assuming a leadership role in partnership with the community of nations. We consider this a matter of profound spiritual importance and a manifestation of our call to be stewards of God’s creation.
We are faith leaders who believe in the scientific community’s overwhelming finding that climate change is real, human-caused, and undeniably destructive to human society and the priceless ecology of our planet. To effectively address this threat, Americans must act at local, state, national, and international levels to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and support communities impacted by climate change. Since its founding, our great nation has rigorously strived to craft policy based on the best available science of our time. The Trump Administration’s unique departure from this tradition, through the rolling back of critical climate change policy, endangers the lives of American citizens everywhere.
