As 2016 predicted to be the hottest year on record , African Methodist Episcopal Church leaders are taking a stand against climate change and urging their congregations and communities to do the same.

Some 30,000 AME clergy, leaders and members met in Philadelphia last week for the churchs 50th General Conference, where they passed a resolution to support the historic 2015 Paris Climate Agreement .

Damage to our climate puts the health of children, elderly, and those with chronic illnesses at greater risk and disproportionately impacts African Americans, Bishop John White, president of the AME Churchs Council of Bishops, said in a statement .

The Natural Resources Defense Council has found that 68 percent of black people in the U.S. live within 30 miles of a power plant, making them highly susceptible to illnesses caused by air pollution. And black Americans suffer from lung cancer more than any other group in the United States, according to the American Lung Association .