World Wildlife Fund (WWF) issued the following statement from Carter Roberts, President and CEO, in response to executive actions from the White House on climate and nature on day one of the new administration:
"Nature is our most valuable resource. And today's executive actions put nature at risk.
"For decades, America has played an important role in the world in saving nature. The new administration has the opportunity to reinforce that leadership and reap the benefits that come with it. Those benefits include the ability to raise our families with clean water, clean air, and the nature that is so much a part of our lives; future-proofed food systems that are more resilient to catastrophes, droughts, and storms; new jobs with stronger markets around the world; and the preservation of our natural heritage, which has few equals in the world.
"There are more effective ways to secure our economy, our environment, and our national security.
"The Paris Agreement allows countries to develop their own goals and make their own decisions on how to deliver a world that's stable, safe, and secure for our communities. Pulling out of Paris will make it much harder for the US to advance its interests with other countries with whom we can build productive partnerships, who represent markets for the innovations we create, and who provide raw materials that our businesses need.
"Further, no one is certain that the economics of drilling the Arctic for oil make sense. What we do know is that there is no established plan or capacity to clean up a potential spill. We can meet the real needs of Americans-particularly the local communities who depend on healthy marine ecosystems-in more efficient and profitable ways. It makes much more sense to create new jobs that develop new solutions and bring renewable energy to more cities and towns across the country. In doing so, we can power American homes and businesses without risking our most precious resource, nature.
"Science shows that when we take care of nature, nature takes care of us. Over the past 60 years, in partnership with presidents from both parties, WWF has been devoted to our mission of creating a future where people and nature both flourish. The US government is important to this work, as are the states, cities, business leaders, communities, and families who want clean water, clean air, lots of nature, predictable weather-and who value nature and understand it is essential to our future."
