Global Climate Legal Defense Remembers Former President Jimmy Carter
NEW YORK, NY (January 2, 2025) – Global Climate Legal Defense (CliDef) joins the country and the world in mourning the passing of President Jimmy Carter, and honoring his legacy in advancing democracy and human rights, and his support for environmental protection.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner died at his home on Sunday at the age of 100.
“President Carter was a lifelong champion for human rights defenders like myself, knowing that those who speak out in closed societies for a better world are often the first to experience backlash. To best honor his legacy, we must all continue to advance his commitment to human rights for all people, no matter where they live,” said Alfred Brownell, Founding President of Global Climate Legal Defense. “We extend our deepest condolences to the Carter family and The Carter Center during this time of mourning.”
In 1978, during an anniversary speech for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, President Carter called human rights, “the soul of our sense of nationhood,” and urged Americans to see human rights as foundational to the US creating a better, more peaceful, and free world.
President Carter also worked to strengthen international standards for human rights and the voices of individuals defending those rights in their communities worldwide. In 2018, Brownell was invited by The Carter Center, alongside 70 fellow activists from 35 countries, for the annual Human Rights Defenders Forum for his work in West Africa to empower people victimized by resource exploitation. The group discussed authoritarianism and the backlash against human rights defenders, while also looking for ways to rebuild faith and recommit to the indivisibility of human rights.
President Carter shared directly with Bronwell his theory that when defenders are protected, democracy and the rule of law thrive because environmental and human rights defenders are the world's first line of defense in advancing and upholding the rule of law and democracy.
This was the first time Brownell heard a leader connect democracy to the work of human rights defenders, which today informs CliDef’s mission to embolden climate defenders to act by providing legal support.
President Carter was also an early advocate for conserving energy and boosting renewable electricity production. He asked his chief science adviser to write a historical memo on the dangers of fossil-fuels and carbon emissions, which also urged immediate action on the matter. By the end of the 20th century,
Carter also called for the United States to produce "20% of all the energy we use from the sun." He also protected California’s redwood forest and 100 million acres in the Alaska Lands bill, which doubled the size of the National Park Service.
About CliDef
Global Climate Legal Defense (CliDef) emboldens climate defenders to act by providing legal support. We offer legal advice, coordination, and funds for legal defense and strengthen a community of diverse lawyers and legal organizations to serve the climate movement. To learn more, please visit our website: www.climatelegaldefense.org
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