This decision by President Trump to leave the Paris Accord is irresponsibly shortsighted and harmful to the United States. There is no credible doubt that climate change is real and is caused by human activity. We have irrefutable data that temperatures are rising, Arctic ice is melting, sea levels are rising, and extreme weather is becoming more severe.

This scientific question has been settled for years, yet the few deniers who are still out there have gained outsized and dangerous influence with our President at the expense of our safety and security.

For the sake of our country and our future, President Trump must quickly embrace the truth that climate change is real, and act on it – by supporting investments in clean energy technology that will create good-paying jobs and drive innovation, and by restoring American leadership in this massive global effort.        

Our children’s generation will have to deal with the potentially catastrophic effects of this shortsighted and dangerous decision to leave the Paris Accord, and I urge all New Yorkers and all Americans who care about our health, our security, and our economy to raise their voices and speak out forcefully against this decision.