Turning Inward or Turning Away?
Why the U.S. Exit from the UNFCCC and IPCC Make State-Level Action in Georgia More Important Than Ever
In January 2026, the United States announced its withdrawal from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. These institutions have long formed the backbone of international climate cooperation and scientific assessment. Their purpose is simple but essential: to help nations understand the risks of climate change and coordinate responses to a challenge that affects the entire planet.
The UNFCCC, adopted in 1992, provides the framework through which countries negotiate climate commitments and assess collective progress. The IPCC brings together scientists from around the world to evaluate the best available climate research and present it in a form that policymakers and the public can understand. While these bodies do not set national policies, they shape the shared knowledge and dialogue that make coordinated action possible.
By stepping away, the United States becomes the first country to withdraw from the UNFCCC and significantly reduces its participation in global climate science efforts. Experts warn that this decision weakens international cooperation, limits the influence of U.S. scientists and policymakers, and complicates efforts to respond to climate change at a time when impacts are accelerating worldwide.
From a Catholic perspective, this moment raises deeper moral questions. In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis teaches that the climate is a common good belonging to all and meant for all. Climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation do not respect borders, and neither can the responsibility to address them. Catholic social teaching consistently emphasizes solidarity, cooperation, and care for the vulnerable, especially those least responsible for environmental harm but most affected by its consequences.
Pope Leo has reaffirmed this vision in his recent State of the World address, calling for renewed commitment to dialogue, multilateralism, and shared responsibility in responding to global crises. His message is clear: challenges of this scale require cooperation rooted in truth, humility, and concern for human dignity. Turning inward or withdrawing from dialogue does not eliminate global problems. It only weakens our collective capacity to respond.
The withdrawal from institutions like the IPCC also raises concerns about the role of science in public decision-making. The Church has long affirmed the harmony of faith and reason. Scientific knowledge helps societies understand risks, evaluate consequences, and make informed moral choices. Engaging with science is not opposed to faith but essential to responsible stewardship of creation.
While these developments are global in scope, their consequences are deeply local. In Georgia, communities already face rising energy costs, pressure on water resources, extreme heat, and difficult decisions about new fossil fuel infrastructure recently authorized by the Public Service Commission. In the absence of strong national leadership on climate change, state-level decisions take on even greater significance.
This is where Encounter GA’s work becomes especially important. Our advocacy focuses on four priority areas that directly affect our state: conservation, climate action, sustainability, and environmental justice. Decisions made at the state level determine whether Georgia protects irreplaceable natural places like the Okefenokee Swamp, transitions to clean, sustainable, and affordable energy, reduces reliance on plastics and other wasteful products, and ensures that the burdens of climate change are not borne disproportionately by the poor and vulnerable.
Catholic teaching reminds us that multilateralism does not exist only in international treaties. It is also practiced in public hearings, regulatory processes, and community engagement at the local level. Even when global cooperation falters, faithful action at the local and state level remains a powerful witness to the common good.
As Pope Leo XIV has emphasized, global crises demand shared responses. In Georgia, that response begins with informed engagement, moral clarity, and a commitment to care for our common home and for one another.
