I went to bed around 1:30 a.m. eastern time, and woke up a couple of hours later to the sound of my wife quietly sobbing.  What had seemed impossible just six hours earlier was now official. I didn’t sleep much after that.

I’m writing this post while I watch victory and concession speeches on CNN, and I’m still struggling to believe this is real. I am mourning what’s gone. I am mourning the loss of what could have been.

But there’s work to be done. So let’s start sorting this out.

I won’t sugarcoat it: yesterday was a dark day in our fight against climate change. We can’t pretend this election outcome is anything else. A lot of people who stand in direct opposition to everything we stand for – everything we want to protect for the future; everything we want our country to be – are going to be sworn into office in January. The road ahead is much, much harder now. The opposition is going to be fierce.

What I will tell you is that what was true going into the election is still true: these coming months, and years, are of enormous importance in the fight against climate change. And I want to promise you that every single one of us on the Defend Our Future team is going to be right alongside you all in this fight to protect our planet. We are not going anywhere. And we are every bit as committed today as we were yesterday.

We got knocked down yesterday, but we’re not going to stay down. We know what the stakes are, and so do you. Our generation is the one that is going to inherit the worst consequences of climate change if we don’t act. We are going to make sure our elected leaders don’t forget it.

I hope everyone takes time to be good to one another today, and to yourselves. Know that you are not alone – there are many millions of people throughout the country who care deeply about climate change and share our concerns about the future of our country and the world. We will continue this fight together. And together, we will win.