More than 500 grassroots leaders are meeting on Friday, November 6, at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels to move climate solutions forward in Los Angeles. At Climate Day LA, the group is creating a Declaration for Climate Action, the first such proclamation developed by Angelenos.
Climate Day LA is a grassroots exercise in building new leadership within five sectors—faith, health, business, higher education and local government. Facilitators will help attendees draft the L.A. Declaration on Climate Action to serve as a guide for action for local, state, federal, and international governments. Local leaders attending COP21, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris (November 30 to December 11), will share this unique LA message on the global stage.
To frame the subject, Dr. Alex Hall (Professor, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, UCLA) will discuss recent studies on climate projections for Los Angeles and Romel Pascual (Executive Director, CicLAvia) will discuss climate activism. For the drafting of the declaration, conference attendees will collaborate with local leaders engaged in climate action.
Representing local government and communities will be Katherine Perez-Estolano (Member, ELP Advisors); representing business will be Bill Funderburk (Partner, Castellón & Funderburk LLP); representing the environmental sector will be Ron Milam (Sustainability Consultant, Ron Milam Consulting); and representing public health will be Dr. Linda Rudolph (Director, Climate Change and Public Health Project, Public Health Institute).
“Climate change has contributed to California’s drought, degraded our air and increased incidence of health impacts,” said Jonathan Parfrey, executive director of Climate Resolve. “We’re helping climate activists improve their skills, and refine strategies. It’s exciting to get the public involved. This declaration will give voice to Angelenos’ concerns.”
“Now is the time for leadership on climate change,” said Robert Perkowitz, President of ecoAmerica. “Los Angeles is internationally known as a place for innovation and forward thinking. A vast diversity of Los Angeles leaders are coming together in the Path to Positive program, to elevate their climate leadership and the need for solutions locally and globally. If LA can do this, then any city, state, or nation can too.”
The event is part of the Path to Positive campaign jointly organized by the nonprofits Climate Resolve and ecoAmerica. Nonprofit and educational supporters include Cal State Northridge, California Nurses Association, Latino Business Association, California Environmental Justice Alliance, IKAR-LA congregation, The Nature Conservancy, California Interfaith Power & Light, Trust for Public Land, and The Wilderness Society, among many others. The platinum sponsor is Dignity Health, one of the nation’s largest health care systems, including eight hospitals and other affiliated care centers in the Southern California area.
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