Month Day, Year

Dear Senator:

I am writing to request that you support action on climate change that addresses the impact of climate change on the world’s most vulnerable people. 

The reality is dire for the world’s poor who stand on the front lines of global climate change, the effects of which they are least responsible for causing. Water scarcity, increasingly severe weather events, and declining agricultural productivity are already placing obstacles in the path of development worldwide.

In our country and abroad, poor and vulnerable communities get hit first and worst by the effects of climate change. In the United States, Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of the affordable housing throughout the Gulf Coast and displaced many low-income families.

In developing countries, poor families are particularly susceptible to the harmful effects of climate change, particularly the women. Women regularly do the jobs, like cultivating crops, and collecting water and fuel, which are most affected by climate change. Women and girls are estimated to produce 60 to 80 percent of the food in most developing countries, while also being given the least opportunities for education and decision-making. As caretakers, women are the linchpins of social support networks, and the coping capacity of families and communities.  Yet, it is these vital roles that also place women in the best position to craft effective adaptation strategies, and to act as catalysts for change and innovation.

Taking action on climate change is urgent because of the increasingly serious effects we are already seeing today. Earlier this year, the International Scientific Congress on Climate Change warned that “the climate system is already moving beyond the patterns of natural variability within which our society and economy have developed and thrived.”

The climate crisis requires a global solution, including investing meaningful resources in international adaptation efforts to build resilience in poor and vulnerable communities.  Meanwhile, we must act aggressively to reduce our emissions so as to prevent further damage to the climate and avoid even higher costs to lives and economies in the future. 

We therefore urge you to work toward a climate change policy that dramatically reduces greenhouse gases in the United States, while also providing substantial assistance to vulnerable communities who are facing the increasingly severe consequences from climate change. 

Most sincerely,
{your name}
{your town, city residence}