Mitch Perry
Months after he issued his encyclical about the dangers of neglecting the environmental, Pope Francis is set to arrive in the United States on Tuesday for his first visit.
In his second papal encyclical, Francis warned that humanity is faced with “global environmental deterioration,” and said climate change “represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day.”
Seizing on the opportunity to shine a light on his message, the environmental political action committee NextGen Climate is launching a national ad campaign calling on lawmakers to stand with the pope to embrace clean energy solutions that protect our common home and secure our children’s future.
The San Francisco-based group says it will be running TV, print and digital ads, highlighting what call “the diverse coalition of Americans who are answering the Pope’s moral call to action on climate change.” NextGen Climate will also partner with Nuns on the Bus, a campaign of NETWORK, a National Catholic School Social Justice Lobby, to hold rallies and events in Columbus, Ohio, and Washington, D.C., urging our lawmakers to embrace working on clean energy solutions.
“Pope Francis’ visit to the United States has the power to shift the conversation about climate change in a very real way,” NextGen Climate president Tom Steyer said. “His may be the most important voice in the world. Now, it’s time for Congress to join the growing coalition of military, faith and business leaders answering the Pope’s call to take action on climate change.”
The new television ad, “Dear World,” will air in both English and Spanish, and will feature excerpts from the Pope’s climate change encyclical. This ad will air in Florida, Washington, D.C., Ohio, New Hampshire, Iowa, and Pennsylvania and on national cable as part of a $2 million ad buy.
NextGen Climate is also running digital ads on Snapchat, Facebook and Twitter and the websites of The New York Times and The Hill during the Pope’s visit to the United States.
Here’s the new ad:
