Last week the Colorado Latino Leadership, Advocacy and Research Organization (CLLARO) hosted a luncheon for faith leaders to discuss the moral implications of the Pope’s climate change encyclical and what Colorado’s faithful can do to support efforts such as the Clean Power Plan to alleviate the carbon pollution that is fueling global warming.

The Pope called on not only faithful Catholics, but people of goodwill everywhere, to understand that we have a moral responsibility to care for God’s creation and protect the earth and our people from compounded impacts of climate change, including unhealthy air pollution, rising summer temperatures that produce dangerous outdoor working conditions and increased vulnerability to weather disasters.

Faith leaders like Msgr. Jorge De Los Santos, Vicar for Hispanic Ministry at the Archdiocese of Denver, former state Sen. Polly Baca, and others gathered to discuss how climate change disproportionately affects Latino communities. Hispanics are the largest minority group in 191 metro districts last year, with the highest expansion in areas of concentrated vehicle traffic, industry and power plant activity. Ethnic minorities and the poor experience the negative consequences of climate change more so than others, such as suffering higher “mortality rates from extreme heat waves, dirty air, water scarcity, and the ‘heat island’ effect of urban areas.” They will also be disproportionately impacted by higher costs for food and electricity and by potential job losses and economic shifts.

Right now, roughly one out of every two Latinos live in areas that frequently violate clean air rules, leading to respiratory illnesses and aggravated pre-existing health problems. It is critical to reduce the carbon pollution that these respiratory problems in all people, but especially our children, grandchildren and elders.

Over the last six months CLLARO has been doing research around the impact climate change has on the Latino community. It is especially troubling when data shows that Latinos are three times more likely to die from asthma than other racial or ethnic groups. This, combined with the millions of Latinos who are uninsured, is a health crisis I believe speaks to the importance of the Pope’s Encyclical and the importance of mankind changing their behaviors.

Surveys and reviews of peer-reviewed literature show that 97 percent of climate scientists believe in climate change – deniers can no longer dismiss the need to address these problems due to “unsettled science.” The time for action is now.

Fortunately, Coloradans – business leaders, policy makers, and citizens – have demonstrated a unique ability to work together to address some of our state’s most pressing clean air challenges including tackling the Front Range’s brown cloud, developing first-in-the-nation safeguards to limit methane pollution from oil and gas operations and cost-effectively address pollution from power plants.

Our state is a proven leader on renewable energy and air quality standards and we can continue to lead the way on addressing climate change. Colorado’s actions form a model for how a combination of efficiency improvements and investments in cleaner resources can cost-effectively reduce carbon pollution while enhancing our economy and protecting public health.

The papal encyclical calls for action on addressing climate change in a meaningful way – and Colorado is already well-positioned to do that by supporting the Clean Power Plan to reduce harmful carbon pollution from our power plants.

Christine Alonzo is the executive director of CLLARO, the Colorado Latino Leadership Advocacy and Research Organization.