Senators Jeanne Shaheen (NH), Bob Menedez (NJ), and Tom Carper (DE) led a group of 43 Senators to introduce S. 1743, the International Climate Accountability Act. It would prevent the administration from withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement and direct it instead to develop a strategic plan for the country to meet its commitments.
This comes just a month after ASLA-supported companion legislation, the Climate Action Now Act (H.R. 9) led by Representative Kathy Castor (FL-14), passed the House of Representatives by a bipartisan vote of 231-190.
“Climate change isn’t dependent on ideology; it’s a scientific fact we all must face together,” states Nancy Somerville, Hon. ASLA, executive vice president and CEO of the American Society of Landscape Architects. “Landscape architects help cities and municipalities design and plan resilient, sustainable communities that incorporate natural systems to mitigate the effects of natural disasters and extreme weather events exacerbated by our changing climate. The goal of the Paris Climate Agreement is to slow the damage of human activity to our environment, and ASLA is still in. ASLA thanks Senators Shaheen, Menendez, and Carper for their leadership and we urge the Senate to join together and pass this critical bill, just as the House did earlier this year.”
The American Society of Landscape Architects is a signatory of the “We Are Still In” declaration. This bipartisan coalition includes over 3,500 representatives from all 50 states, spanning large and small businesses, mayors and governors, university presidents, faith leaders, tribal leaders, and cultural institutions. “We Are Still In” signatories represent more than half of all Americans and, taken together, $6.2 trillion in economic activity.