Jane Fonda a Line 3 Protest

Actress and climate activist Jane Fonda (center) joins Indigenous community members at a #StopLine3 rally and march in Solway, Minnesota on June 7, 2021. (Photo: Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images)

Fonda Launches Climate PAC to Break Big Oil's 'Stranglehold' on US Politicians

"If we can't change the minds of the people in power," the 84-year-old actress and activist said, "we need to change the people in power."

Vowing to "do whatever it takes to defeat the political allies of the fossil fuel industry, no matter which side of the aisle they're on," actress and activist Jane Fonda this week launched a political action committee with the goal of spurring meaningful action to tackle the climate emergency.

"There is no question that the obstacle between saving the planet and not is the money that has a stranglehold on our politicians."

" Greta Thunberg warned that our house is on fire," Fonda said in a video announcement, referring to the Swedish teen climate campaigner. "So, it's time we fight fire with fire or, in this case, to fight dollars with dollars. And it's in that spirit that I'm launching the Jane Fonda Climate PAC."

"It's no secret that I have a history of ruffling feathers in Washington," she added. "I've never been afraid to stand up to politicians who ignore the realities of what's at stake."

Fonda's previous climate activism includes starting Fire Drill Fridays and participation in the #StopLine3 movement, actions which have led to numerous arrests. The 84-year-old first rose to prominence as an activist more than half a century ago after a controversial visit to Hanoi, North Vietnam as part of her efforts against the Vietnam War.

"Scientists have been very clear: We have to cut our fossil fuel emissions in half by 2030. We have eight years," Fonda continued in the video. "That's just four election cycles before the point of no return. And there is no question that the obstacle between saving the planet and not is the money that has a stranglehold on our politicians."

Noting that the fossil fuel industry contributed $139 million to the campaigns of both Democrats and Republicans during the 2020 election cycle, Fonda lamented that "major solutions" to the climate emergency like the Green New Deal, provisions of the Build Back Better Act, clean energy investments, and ending fossil fuel industry tax subsidies "are stopped cold... all because of politicians backed by Big Oil."

"If we can't change the minds of the people in power," she added, "we need to change the people in power."

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