There is little to be added to the chorus of disbelief, regret, and outright disdain that has met the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accords. Kresge President and CEO Rip Rapson said: “To convey to the world community, to say nothing of this country’s citizens, that this nation’s policy on the defining issue of our time will be based on science denial, rather than empirical rigor, on pandering rather than leadership, on the proffering of false hopes rather than the construction of tough-minded solutions, is unworthy of a nation that has until now led the world’s efforts to combat climate change with integrity, boldness and innovative practicality.”

“We fully expect,” Rapson continued, “that the decision will ignite an even higher commitment among states, counties, and cities, across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, and in every household in America to pursue the vast array of beneficial activities already underway – and activities yet to be explored – to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of a rapidly changing climate. We believe, and fervently hope, that it is through these efforts that the federal leadership void will be filled, that action will substitute for the façade of equivocation, that real progress will replace hollow and reckless rhetoric.”

Kresge is among a growing number of philanthropies working to accelerate the transition to clean energy, slow emissions of climate pollution, and reduce the severity of climate change impacts. Our Environment Program supports organizations committed to factoring climate change into decisions about infrastructure investments, land use, building codes, public health and other urban planning issues so that urban leaders can make their communities stronger and more equitable.

Kresge’s approach seeks, moreover, to help urban leaders understand the equity implications of proposed investments, policies and actions so they can make choices that improve opportunity for all community members, particularly those with low incomes and who have been historically underserved.  Rather than closing the door on those efforts, the administration’s decision will instead open it further for even more broad-based, energized and effective efforts to move our communities – our world –  toward a more hopeful future.