WASHINGTON, D.C. – A ground-breaking report from the Commission on Accelerating Climate Action underscored that addressing the climate crisis and persistent environmental injustices will require broad, cross-sector collaboration, as well as the need to balance the urgency of action with management of risk. The commission, a non-partisan initiative of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, proposed five strategies and 21 recommendations to create a national response to climate change that transcends sector, ideology, and other divides.

“If we’re serious about climate solutions that help frontline communities go from surviving to thriving, we need to build a broad coalition that transcends our persistent divisions. This report affirms that while we need to disrupt the status quo, reducing emissions, investing in natural climate solutions, and transitioning away from fossil fuels is within reach,” said Mustafa Santiago Ali, executive vice president at the National Wildlife Federation and one of the co-chairs of the Commission on Accelerating Climate Action. “The stakes for historically marginalized communities are too high — and will be measured in lives lost, homes destroyed, and communities upended — for us not to act in the face of overwhelming evidence that climate change is the defining challenge of our time. This report underscores the need to act, even as we search for greater answers and work to minimize risk.”