The U.S. Climate Action Center is an environmentalist project encouraging American re-entry to the Paris Climate Accords in conjunction with “We Are Still In.” Created after the United States left the Paris Agreement, a U.S. Climate Action Center pavilion replaced what would have been the U.S. State Department presence at the U.N. Climate Change Conference. The U.S. Climate Action Center is a product of the “We Are Still In” coalition. The “We Are Still In” coalition is a collective of 3,700 governors, mayors, tribal leaders, and religious groups in the United States urging participation of the United States in the Paris Agreement.

History

In 2017, the “We Are Still In” coalition created the U.S. Climate Action Center to substitute for the U.S. State Department pavilion at COP 23, a United Nations conference on environmentalist approaches to combating climate change under the Paris Climate Accords from which the Trump administration had withdrawn the United States. The “We Are Still In” coalition was created days after the United States announced its intention to leave the Paris Agreement. The “We Are Still In” coalition includes companies like Microsoft, Walmart, Amazon, Apple, Google, Nike, Starbucks, and Target. ¹

In 2018, several American government officials and politicians stated that America was “still in” at the U.S. Climate Action Center pavilion. Former New York Mayor and 2020 Democratic Presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg and then-California Governor Jerry Brown (D) announced the “America’s Pledge” as a response to the withdrawal. ²

During the U.S. Climate Action Center at COP 25 in Madrid, Spain, Bloomberg, former Vice President Al Gore, and former Secretary of State John Kerry acted as “shadow delegation” at the event. Actor and private pilot Harrison Ford, also joined Bloomberg stating that the “future has already been diminished by our past.” ³

The U.S. Climate Action Center has provided pavilions for speakers, panel discussions, and roundtables to discuss environmentalist policy approaches to climate change. The U.S. Climate Action Center, due to the lack of an official federal delegation, emphasized support for “We Are Still In, America’s Pledge, Climate Mayors and the U.S. Climate Alliance.” ⁴

Activities

As of November 2017, 1,700 companies have signed the “We Are Still In” declaration against climate change. ⁵ “We Are Still In” is a coalition of 3,700 mayors, governors, tribal leaders, university faculty, and religious groups in the United States affirming support for the Paris Accords. ⁶

COP 25

In 2019, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced the opening of the U.S. Climate Action Center under the banner of the We Are Still In organization. The pavilion was open for four days while countries from across the world deliberated over the Paris Agreement. ⁷

In December of 2019, Pelosi led a delegation of Democratic lawmakers to Madrid, Spain to attend the UN Climate Change Conference COP 25. ⁸ While at COP 25, Pelosi went to the U.S. Climate Action Center to reaffirm her commitment to the Paris Agreement. ⁹

In 2019, America’s Pledge joined up with “We Are Still In,” Beyond Carbon, the World Wildlife Fund at the U.S. Climate Action Center in Madrid, Spain for COP 25. ¹⁰

COP 23

COP 23 marked the first time that the United States did not have a pavilion at the environmental summit. The U.S. Climate Action Center was set up at COP 23 for delegates in Bonn, Germany to represent various U.S. cities, tribes, and businesses.  ¹¹

Ceres, Inc., attended COP 23 in Bonn, Germany to “demonstrate America’s ongoing resolve to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.” Additionally, Ceres, Inc., led a delegation of U.S. investors and companies to highlight their environmentalist pushes after the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. ¹² The businesses featured by Ceres, Inc., convened at the U.S. Climate Action Center at COP 23 to present their plans to meet the requirements of the Paris Agreement.

Funding

“We Are Still In” is funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, Rocky Mountain Institute, and the World Wildlife Fund. ¹³

1. Meeks, Brock N. “How Business Can Bolster the Paris Agreement.” Greenbiz. GreenBiz Group, Inc. , November 9, 2017. https://www.greenbiz.com/article/how-business-can-bolster-paris-agreement.
2. Spitzer, Martin, and Anne Kelly. “#WeAreStillIn Is a Groundswell for Climate Action.” Greenbiz, February 18, 2018. https://www.greenbiz.com/article/wearestillin-groundswell-climate-action.
3. Associated Press. “Bloomberg Tells U.N. Climate Talks: Count on the U.S. Even with ‘Denier’ Trump in White House.” MarketWatch. Associated Press, December 11, 2019. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/bloomberg-tells-un-climate-talks-count-on-the-us-even-with-denier-trump-in-white-house-2019-12-10.
4. McGinn, Anna. “The United States at COP25.” EESI. Environmental and Energy Study Institute, December 12, 2019. https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/the-united-states-at-cop25.
5. Fund, Environmental Defense. “COP 23 Caps Off A Milestone Year Of Corporate Climate Leadership.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, November 15, 2017. https://www.forbes.com/sites/edfenergyexchange/2017/11/15/cop-23-caps-off-a-milestone-year-of-corporate-climate-leadership/#443e671746a7.
6. Chester, Kate. “Higher Education’s Role in the Race to a Climate Change Solution.” bizjournals.com. Portland Community College, December 13, 2019. https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/news/2019/12/13/higher-education-s-role-in-the-race-to-a-climate.html.
7. “Home.” EthicalMarkets.com, December 23, 2019. https://www.ethicalmarkets.com/us-climate-action-center-makes-a-splash-at-cop25-as-the-paris-agreement-turns-four/.
8. Wolff, Eric. “Pelosi to Climate Conference: ‘We’re Still in’ Paris Agreement.” POLITICO, December 2, 2019. https://www.politico.com/news/2019/12/02/pelosi-to-climate-conference-were-still-in-paris-agreement-074756.
9. Noa Dalzell View Bio More from this Author, Noa, and Noa Dalzell. “Live from COP 25: Three Takeaways from the United Nations Climate Negotiations – Climate-XChange.” Climate, December 13, 2019. https://climate-xchange.org/2019/12/13/three-takeaways-from-cop-25/.
10. Lewis, Michelle. “Nevada Will Have More Solar than 37 Other States Combined.” Electrek, December 10, 2019. https://electrek.co/2019/12/09/egeb-nevada-will-have-more-solar-than-37-other-states-combined-more/.
11. Milman, Oliver. “We Are Still In: Local US Reps Stand for Climate Action in Bonn.” Wired. Conde Nast. Accessed May 20, 2020. https://www.wired.com/story/we-are-still-in-local-us-reps-stand-for-climate-action-in-bonn/.
12. Jergler, Don. “Resilience Economics Bringing Climate Products to New Sectors.” Insurance Journal, November 10, 2017. https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2017/11/09/470891.htm.
13. Meeks, Brock N. “How Business Can Bolster the Paris Agreement.” Greenbiz. Greenbiz Group, Inc. , November 9, 2017. https://www.greenbiz.com/article/how-business-can-bolster-paris-agreement.