Center for Biological Diversity


Media Advisory, September 22, 2015

Contact:  Bill Snape, (202) 536-9351, bsnape@biologicaldiversity.org  

'Frostpaw the Polar Bear' to Greet Pope Francis With 'The Pope Gives Me Climate Hope' Sign

WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity’s Frostpaw the Polar Bear will greet Pope Francis as the pope visits President Obama and addresses a joint session of Congress in Washington this week. Holding a sign reading “The Pope Gives Me Climate Hope,” Frostpaw will applaud the pope’s calls for stronger steps to fight global warming ahead of December’s United Nations climate talks in Paris.

“Pope Francis is the world’s most powerful climate activist, and he’s telling President Obama and other leaders that only bolder action can prevent catastrophe,” said Bill Snape, senior counsel at the Center. “To protect our planet, the president has to halt Arctic drilling and keep other dirty fossil fuels in the ground. He must also back an ambitious global climate agreement that shields Earth’s poorest people and our very web of life from this terrifying threat.” 

What: Frostpaw the Polar Bear and other climate activists will hold signs hailing the pope’s strong climate stance and urging President Obama to take stronger steps.

Where: Frostpaw will show up outside the White House welcoming ceremony and along the papal parade route to the National Mall on Wednesday morning. He’ll also appear outside the pope’s speech to a joint session of Congress on Thursday morning.

When: Wednesday, Sept. 23 through Thursday, Sept. 24.

Media Availability: Frostpaw and other Center activists are available for interviews. Contact Bill Snape.

Background
In a landmark letter to bishops earlier this year, Pope Francis wrote that “Reducing greenhouse gases requires honesty, courage and responsibility, above all on the part of those countries which are more powerful and pollute the most.”

Echoing the pope’s call for action, the Center has urged the president to support an ambitious, just, and binding international climate agreement. The Center has also urged the Obama administration to halt new fossil fuel development on public lands, rescind proposals to drill offshore for oil in the Arctic and along the Atlantic coast, and cut greenhouse pollution from airplanes and other unregulated sources.

Frostpaw has shown up around the country — from Alaska and Hawaii to Martha’s Vineyard and Washington — urging President Obama to take strong action on climate.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 900,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.


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