Rafe Pomerance (born July 19, 1946) is an American environmentalist. He is a Distinguished Senior Arctic Policy Fellow of the Woodwell Climate Research Center.^[1] Since the late 1970s, he has played a key role in raising awareness of the risks of climate change for United States policy-makers.^[2] His role during the period 1979 to 1989 is detailed in the book Losing Earth, by Nathaniel Rich.

Early life and education[edit]

Pomerance grew up in Cos Cob, Connecticut,^[3] the son of peace activist Josephine (née Wertheim)^[4] and architect Ralph Pomerance.^[5] He is a grandson of Maurice Wertheim and Alma Morgenthau, and great-grandson of Henry Morgenthau Sr.

He graduated from Cornell University in 1968, with a B.A. in History.^[6]

Career[edit]

After graduating from university, Pomerance served in the poverty program as a VISTA volunteer working for the Virginia Welfare Rights Organization. He began his environmental career in 1972 working for the Urban Environment Conference^[7] under Senator Phil Hart where they worked on issues of lead in gasoline and reforming the highway trust fund (to include support of mass transit). In 1973 he launched the National Clean Air Coalition and became its coordinator for 5 years.^[8]

He joined the Friends of the Earth in 1975 lobbying for clean air^[9] and was its president for four years until 1984.^[10] From 1986 to 1993, he served as a Senior Associate for climate change and ozone depletion^[11] at the World Resources Institute.^[12]

In 1993, he was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Environment and Development under U.S. president Bill Clinton.^[13] In this role he was involved in negotiations on forestry, GMO's, the international coral reef initiative, and climate change^[14] leading to the Kyoto Protocol. He left the department in 1999 and founded a non-profit, Climate Policy Center^[15] where he led a successful effort to get the Federal Government to found the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy, which was signed into law in 2007.

He is an advisor to Rethink Energy Florida and their project "Keep Florida Above Water".^[16]

From 2015 to 2019 he served on the Polar Research Board of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. In 2014 he launched Arctic 21,^[17][18] a network of organizations committed to communicating the unraveling of the Arctic.^[19]

He has served as President of the Board of American Rivers, Chairman of the Board of the League of Conservation Voters, and the Potomac Conservancy.

Climate change activism[edit]

Pomerance first became interested in climate change after reading a 1978 EPA report, "Environmental Assessment of Coal Liquefaction: Annual Report". The EPA report mentions "a report by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) which warns that continued use of fossil fuels as a primary energy source for more than 20 to 30 more years could result in increased atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide. The greenhouse effect and associate global temperature increase and resulting climate changes could, according to NAS be both 'significant and damaging.'"^[20] Reading these words led Pomerance to contact a number of scientists for answers. He teamed up with scientist Gordon MacDonald and began scheduling meetings with government officials to discuss the issue of climate change. Their meeting with top White House scientist, Frank Press, prompted a National Academy of Sciences study, "Carbon Dioxide and Climate: A Scientific Assessment", informally known as the Charney report, the first National Academy assessment that attempted to quantify the impacts of increased CO₂ on the climate.^[21]

Pomerance joined the World Resources Institute in 1986 and continued to attempt to fight for climate change policy. He and Gus Speth convinced Senator John Chafee to hold the June 10 and 11, 1986 hearings^[22] on “Ozone Depletion, the Greenhouse Effect, and Climate Change", with Hansen being the key witness. Hansen's testimony at this hearing and his 1988 Senate testimony^[23] Chaired by Senator Tim Wirth, on the effects of climate change are now regarded as a turning point in the public's awareness of the issue.^[24] Press coverage of these hearings were extensive, resulting in higher public awareness of the issue.^[25]

In 1989, at the World Conference on the Changing Atmosphere, Pomerance and others suggested proposing a concrete goal. His suggestion was "a 20 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2000." This goal became internationally known as a target for emission reductions.^[26][2]

In 2023 he articulated a vision of setting a limit on sea level rise, as a way of making climate change goals more tangible. These views were described in "The Case for Capping Sea Level Rise"^[27]

Pomerance is considered by the Climate Institute an "Unsung Hero of the Climate Wars".^[28] His lobbying efforts in the 1980s were the subject of a 2018 New York Times article entitled "Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change".^[29] The article brought significant attention to his past work. His views about the evolving debate over climate change policy are summarized in a 2020 interview by Nancy Rosenblum^[30] the title of which was a phrase coined by Pomerance: "The Fate of Greenland is the Fate of Miami."

Personal life[edit]

Pomerance is married and has three children. He has lived in Washington, D.C. since 1970.^[3]

References[edit]