Milestones for Climate Restoration Movement Made at Second Annual Global Climate Restoration Forum, Hosted by the Foundation for Climate Restoration

WASHINGTON, Sept. 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Pope Francis called for climate restoration in his statement on September 1, saying "climate restoration is of utmost importance." The Pope showed support for climate restoration and related solutions just two weeks before the second Annual Global Climate Restoration Forum, hosted by the Foundation for Climate Restoration (F4CR). At the Forum, innovators, scientists, and other thought leaders gathered to discuss the implementation of and investment behind climate restoration solutions.

"This second annual forum, one year after our inaugural event at the UN Headquarters, demonstrated how the climate restoration movement is gaining critical momentum," said Rick Parnell, CEO, Foundation for Climate Restoration. "Experts, leading scientists, and technologists are pushing for bold climate restoration solutions because they are necessary to ensure a habitable planet."

Climate restoration is the safe and permanent removal of the trillion tons of excess CO₂ in the atmosphere. This excess CO₂ is the main driver of global warming, and restoration, alongside mitigation and adaptation, is essential to combating climate change.

Statements from thought leaders included below:

"We need climate repair and climate restoration to be put on the agenda," said Sir David King, Former United Kingdom Chief Scientific Advisor to HM Government, Emeritus Professor, and Founding Chair of the Center for Climate Repair at the University of Cambridge. "If we continue to emit the present levels (35B tons of greenhouse gases (GHG)/year), the problem becomes really difficult and challenging and may not be manageable. By reducing emissions, we move on to the next steps that will help us manage the climate problem: remove GHG from the atmosphere and develop the supportive technologies."

"We've recently broken the carbon balance cycle. We can fix the problem by reversing the process - take the carbon out of the atmosphere and put it back into the geosphere," said Steve Oldham, CEO, Carbon Engineering. "The reality is that we are not ready to instantaneously switch away from fossil fuels, it is going to take time, but the decarbonization cannot wait."

"Climate restoration is one of the most important solutions we have for our changing planet," said Alexandria Villaseñor, 15-year-old Youth Climate Activist and Co-Founder of Earth Uprising.

"We're marking 2021 as the year to restore the planet," said Kathleen Rogers, President, Earth Day Network. "We will not have a sustainable planet unless we include restoration, along with the mitigation and adaptation, as part of our urgent climate actions."

Other announcements at the Forum include:

• The Washington Post featured Sir David King and Rick Parnell's op-ed online and in print: Stopping climate change could cost less than fighting covid-19.
• The Ocean-Climate Alliance (OCA) was officially launched during the Forum. The OCA brings together leading ocean and climate organizations, scientists, innovators, entrepreneurs and investors to advance an ocean-climate restoration agenda.
• Girl Up, the movement to advance girls' skills, rights, and opportunities to be leaders, partnered with F4CR to bring climate restoration to the Girl Up climate platform.
• Baruch Future Ventures partnered with F4CR to support the Climate Restoration Movement.
• Guggenheim Partners joined F4CR as a partner and was the underwriter for the Second Annual Forum.
• Broadway Green Alliance (BGA), an industry-wide initiative that educates, motivates, and inspires the entire theatre community and its patrons to implement environmentally friendlier practices on Broadway and beyond, partnered with F4CR to bring climate restoration to the theatre sustainability movement.
• TedCountdown made F4CR a Network Partner.
• Pachamama Alliance Co-Founders, Bill and Lynne Twist, announced their support to restore the climate.
• EarthX and EarthXTV joined F4CR as a partner and will broadcast the 2nd Annual Global Climate Restoration Forum on EarthXTV during Climate Week NYC
• Earth Day Network President, Kathleen Rogers, announced 2020 is the year to Restore the Planet.

All sessions from the Forum can be viewed on the Foundation for Climate Restoration's YouTube channel.

About the Foundation for Climate Restoration

The Foundation for Climate Restoration (F4CR) is a nonprofit whose mission is to catalyze action to restore the climate by 2050. It uses global dialogue and initiatives to unite the public, policy-makers, and technical and business experts behind the common goal of reversing global warming and restoring a healthy climate for future generations. The F4CR encourages and spotlights achievable solutions to permanently remove excess carbon dioxide from our atmosphere. For more information visit www.f4cr.org.

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SOURCE Foundation for Climate Restoration