July, 31 2018, 12:00am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Rachel Vincent,Manager, Media & Communications,Mobile: +1.613.276.9030,Phone: +1.613.569.8400,Fax: +1.613.691.1419,rvincent@nobelwomensinitiative.org,Kimberley MacKenzie,Coordinator, Online Media & Outreach,Phone: +1.613.569.8400 x 114,Fax: +1.613.691.1419,kmackenzie@nobelwomensinitiative.org
Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Ask Governor Brown to Take "Moral Responsibility," Pursue Bold Action to Phase Out Fossil Fuels
In letter from Women Nobel Laureates, Governor Brown urged “begin managed and just transition off of oil and gas production”
Sacramento, CA
Declaring that California has "a moral responsibility to act" and "climate leaders can no longer explore for and exploit new fossil fuels," a group of Nobel Peace Laureates today urged Governor Jerry Brown to freeze new fossil fuel drilling and develop a plan to transition California "away from oil and gas production."
In a letter to the California Governor, the Laureates emphasized the fact that, despite Governor Brown's strong language to raise the alarm on the threat of climate change, California continues to drill wells and engage in destructive fossil fuel extraction. Over the past seven years, the Brown administration has authorized 20,000 new permits for drilling, including wells in sensitive offshore sites along the California coast.
"Climate leadership is being redefined, and we strongly believe you, Governor Brown, can be among those at the vanguard," the letter states. "We know the vast majority of fossil fuels must be kept in the ground. Climate leaders can no longer explore for and exploit new fossil fuels, and climate leaders must have a plan to phase-out production by no later than mid-century. This transition will be challenging, but by starting now, you have the opportunity to work together with workers dependent on fossil fuel production to ensure they have the agency and support to build livelihoods for themselves in a post-carbon economy."
In their letter, the Nobel Laureates express support for Brown's Last Chance, a campaign endorsed by over 800 health, social justice, climate, and environmental groups calling on Brown to take bold action to freeze new fossil fuel drilling and protect communities from drilling in sensitive areas before the Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS) in September. Brown is hosting the summit in San Francisco, and it's expected to attract thousands of people from all over the world - including many who plan to protest his oil and gas policies at the summit.
Signatories to the letter include: Mairead Maguire (Northern Ireland), Rigoberta Menchu Tum (Guatemala), Jody Williams (U.S.A), Shirin Ebadi (Iran), Leymah Gbowee (Liberia) and Tawakkol Karman (Yemen).
The text of the letter is below:
Dear Governor Brown,
Thank you for your commitment to action on climate change. As you know, the devastating impacts of global warming are already ravaging the lives and livelihoods of many of the world's poorest and most vulnerable. Your home state has been the epicenter of devastating wildfires and mudslides, and you have been emphatic about the role of fossil fuels in this man-made crisis.
We especially value your aspirations for bold and unprecedented action, as you have said, "Let's lead the whole world to realize this is not your normal political challenge. This is much bigger. This is life itself. It requires courage and imagination."
It is in this spirit that we call on you to become the first major fossil fuel producer to begin a managed and just transition off oil and gas production, in turn protecting the climate, citizens on the frontlines of extraction, and setting a new direction for global climate action.
California is one of the world's largest economies, it is the wealthiest major oil producing economy in the world after Norway, and it has a government and population that have been steadfast in their support for urgent and ambitious action. The state's policies on clean energy and vehicle efficiency and electrification for example have been groundbreaking. But, this is only half of the equation.
Without commensurate action to phase-out fossil fuel production, the struggle for a safer climate future will only become more challenging. Rich oil, gas, and coal producers have a moral responsibility to act. If California, or Norway, or Canada cannot embrace an ambitious path away from fossil fuel production, how can we expect others to?
Climate leadership is being redefined, and we strongly believe you, Governor Brown, can be among those at the vanguard. We know the vast majority of fossil fuels must be kept in the ground. Climate leaders can no longer explore for and exploit new fossil fuels, and climate leaders must have a plan to phase-out production by no later than mid-century.
This transition will be challenging, but by starting now, you have the opportunity to work together with workers dependent on fossil fuel production to ensure they have the agency and support to build livelihoods for themselves in a post-carbon economy.
As Nobel Peace Laureates, we believe that climate change is among the biggest threats to a peaceful future. We celebrate the perseverance and strength of communities in California and around the world who are on the frontlines of fossil fuel extraction projects and who continue to fight for their rights to a healthy environment and a safe climate. And we celebrate the women who are driving this change. For meaningful and sustainable solutions to the climate crisis, it is critical that gender equality, human rights, and the rights of indigenous people are central to all climate action.
As decision-makers, community members, and leaders, women are driving this change and it is imperative that this leadership role is embraced at all levels.
We would also like to share our support for, and draw your attention to the Lofoten Declaration, a declaration supported by voices from across the globe calling on wealthy fossil fuel producers to chart a course away from this dependency. Similar calls are echoed in a powerful letter recently sent directly to you by over 750 civil society organizations from all corners of the world.
As you prepare to host the Global Climate Action Summit in September, we look forward to your "courage and imagination" in setting new precedents for the coming critical years of climate action.
Yours sincerely,
Mairead Maguire, Northern Ireland, 1976
Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Guatemala, 1992
Jody Williams, U.S.A., 1997
Shirin Ebadi, Iran, 2003
Leymah Gbowee, Liberia, 2011
Tawakkol Karman, Yemen, 2011
###
Estimado gobernador Brown:
Gracias por comprometerse a adoptar medidas para combatir el cambio climatico. Como sabra, los impactos devastadores del calentamiento global estan destruyendo las vidas y el sustento de la poblacion mas pobre y mas vulnerable del mundo. Su estado ha sido el epicentro de incendios forestales y corrimientos de tierra devastadores, y usted se ha mostrado categorico con respecto al papel que los combustibles fosiles desempenan en esta crisis provocada por el hombre.
Valoramos especialmente su aspiracion a adoptar medidas audaces y sin precedentes, como usted mismo ha dicho: "Hagamos que el mundo entero se de cuenta de que este no es un desafio politico cualquiera. Es mucho mas que eso. Se trata de la vida misma. Exige valentia e imaginacion".
Es en este sentido que lo instamos a que se convierta en el primer gobernador de un estado productor de combustibles fosiles que comience una transicion cuidadosa y justa para abandonar la produccion de gas y petroleo a fin de proteger al clima y a los ciudadanos que son afectados por la extraccion, y a que fije un nuevo rumbo para la accion climatica mundial.
El estado de California es una de las mayores economias del mundo. Es la principal economia productora de petroleo mas rica del mundo despues de Noruega, y su gobierno y poblacion han apoyado firmemente la adopcion de medidas urgentes y ambiciosas. Las politicas del estado con respecto a la energia limpia, la eficiencia de los vehiculos y la electrificacion, entre otras, han sido revolucionarias. Sin embargo, ellas constituyen tan solo la mitad de la ecuacion.
A menos que se adopten medidas adecuadas para eliminar progresivamente la produccion de combustibles fosiles, la lucha por un futuro climatico mas seguro sera cada vez mas dificil. Los productores de petroleo, gas y carbon tienen la responsabilidad moral de adoptar medidas. Si California, Noruega o Canada no apoyan un plan ambicioso para eliminar la produccion de los combustibles fosiles, ?que podemos esperar de los demas?
Se esta redefiniendo el liderazgo en materia climatica y estamos convencidos de que usted, gobernador Brown, puede formar parte de los que estan a la vanguardia. Sabemos que la gran mayoria de los combustibles fosiles deben permanecer en el suelo. Los lideres climaticos no deben explorar y explotar nuevos combustibles fosiles y deben tener un plan para eliminar progresivamente su produccion a mas tardar a mediados de este siglo.
Esta transicion sera dificil, pero si comienza ahora, tendra la oportunidad de colaborar con los trabajadores que dependen de la produccion de combustibles fosiles para asegurarse de que tengan autonomia para actuar y apoyo para generar su propio sustento en una economia libre de carbono.
Como ganadores del Premio Nobel de la Paz consideramos que el cambio climatico es una de las mayores amenazas a un futuro pacifico. Celebramos la perseverancia y la fortaleza de las comunidades de California y el mundo entero que se ven amenazadas por proyectos de extraccion de combustibles fosiles y que siguen luchando por sus derechos a un medio ambiente saludable y un clima seguro. Tambien celebramos a las mujeres que estan impulsando este cambio. Para lograr soluciones a la crisis climatica significativas y sostenibles, es fundamental poner la igualdad de genero, los derechos humanos y los derechos de los pueblos indigenas en el centro de toda accion por el clima.
Como encargadas de adoptar decisiones, miembros y lideres de sus comunidades, las mujeres estan impulsando este cambio y es imperativo que adopten este papel de liderazgo en todos los niveles.
Tambien quisieramos expresar nuestro apoyo a la Declaracion de Lofoten, que cuenta con el apoyo de personas de todo el mundo, en la que se exige a los productores de combustibles fosiles que tracen un camino para poner fin a su dependencia. Se realizaron llamamientos similares en una poderosa carta dirigida a usted recientemente por 750 organizaciones de la sociedad civil de diferentes partes del mundo.
Mientras se prepara para organizar la Cumbre de Accion Mundial sobre el Clima en septiembre, esperamos que utilice su "valentia e imaginacion" para sentar nuevos precedentes para los proximos anos de accion por el clima, que seran muy importantes.
Atentamente,
Mairead Maguire, Northern Ireland, 1976
Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Guatemala, 1992
Jody Williams, U.S.A., 1997
Shirin Ebadi, Iran, 2003
Leymah Gbowee, Liberia, 2011
Tawakkol Karman, Yemen, 2011
The Nobel Women's Initiative was established in 2006 by sister Nobel Peace Laureates Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Wangari Maathai, Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Betty Williams and Mairead Maguire. We six women - representing North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa - have decided to bring together our extraordinary experiences in a united effort for peace with justice and equality.
LATEST NEWS
Climate Crisis to Cost Global Economy $38 Trillion a Year by 2050
"This clearly shows that protecting our climate is much cheaper than not doing so, and that is without even considering noneconomic impacts such as loss of life or biodiversity," a new study's lead author said.
Apr 18, 2024
The climate crisis will shrink the average global income 19% in the next 26 years compared to what it would have been without global heating caused primarily by the burning of fossil fuels, a study published in Nature Wednesday has found.
The researchers, from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), said that economic shrinkage was largely locked in by mid-century by existing climate change, but that actions taken to reduce emissions now could determine whether income losses hold steady at around 20% or triple through the second half of the century.
"These near-term damages are a result of our past emissions," study lead author and PIK scientist Leonie Wenz said in a statement. "We will need more adaptation efforts if we want to avoid at least some of them. And we have to cut down our emissions drastically and immediately—if not, economic losses will become even bigger in the second half of the century, amounting to up to 60% on global average by 2100."
"I am used to my work not having a nice societal outcome, but I was surprised by how big the damages were."
Put in dollar terms, the climate crisis will take a yearly $38 trillion chunk out of the global economy in damages by 2050, the study authors found.
"That seems like… a lot," writer and climate advocate Bill McKibben wrote in response to the findings. "The entire world economy at the moment is about $100 trillion a year; the federal budget is about $6 trillion a year."
This means that the costs of inaction have already exceeded the costs of limiting global heating to 2°C by six times, the study authors said. However, limiting warming to 2°C can still significantly reduce economic losses through 2100.
"This clearly shows that protecting our climate is much cheaper than not doing so, and that is without even considering noneconomic impacts such as loss of life or biodiversity," Wenz said.
The damages predicted by the study were more than twice those of similar analyses because the researchers looked beyond national temperature data to also incorporate the impacts of extreme weather and rainfall on more than 1,600 subnational regions over a 40-year period, The Guardian explained.
"Strong income reductions are projected for the majority of regions, including North America and Europe, with South Asia and Africa being most strongly affected," PIK scientist and first author Maximilian Kotz said in a statement. "These are caused by the impact of climate change on various aspects that are relevant for economic growth such as agricultural yields, labor productivity, or infrastructure."
However, Wenz told the paper that the paper's projected reduction was likely a "lower bound" because the study still doesn't include climate impacts such as heatwaves, tropical storms, sea-level rise, and harms to human health.
Unlike previous studies, the research predicted economic losses for most wealthier countries in the Global North, with the U.S. and German economies shrinking by 11% by mid-century, France's by 13%, and the U.K.'s by 7%. However, the countries set to suffer the most are countries closer to the equator that have lower incomes already and have historically done much less to contribute to the climate crisis. Iraq, for example, could see incomes drop by 30%, Botswana 25%, and Brazil 21%.
"Our study highlights the considerable inequity of climate impacts: We find damages almost everywhere, but countries in the tropics will suffer the most because they are already warmer," study co-author Anders Levermann, who leads Research Department Complexity Science at PIK, said in a statement. "Further temperature increases will therefore be most harmful there. The countries least responsible for climate change, are predicted to suffer income loss that is 60% greater than the higher-income countries and 40% greater than higher-emission countries. They are also the ones with the least resources to adapt to its impacts."
Wenz told The Guardian that the results were "devastating."
"I am used to my work not having a nice societal outcome, but I was surprised by how big the damages were. The inequality dimension was really shocking," Wenz said.
Levermann said the paper presented society with a clear choice:
It is on us to decide: Structural change towards a renewable energy system is needed for our security and will save us money. Staying on the path we are currently on, will lead to catastrophic consequences. The temperature of the planet can only be stabilized if we stop burning oil, gas, and coal.
McKibben, meanwhile, argued that the findings should persuade major companies to embrace climate action for self-interested reasons. He noted that most corporate emissions come from how company money is invested by banks, particularly in the continued exploitation of fossil fuel resources.
"If Amazon and Apple and Microsoft wanted to avoid a world where, by century's end, people had 60% less money to spend on buying whatever phones and software and weird junk (doubtless weirder by then) they plan on selling, then they should be putting pressure on their banks to stop making the problem worse. They should also be unleashing their lobbying teams to demand climate action from Congress," McKibben wrote.
"These people are supposed to care about money, and for once it would help us if they actually did," he continued. "Stop putting out ads about how green your products are—start making this system you dominate actually work."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Congressional Progressives Unveil 'Bold' Agenda for Second Biden Term
The Congressional Progressive Caucus says its legislative blueprint for 2025 and beyond aims to "deliver equality, justice, and economic security for working people."
Apr 18, 2024
The Congressional Progressive Caucus on Thursday published a "comprehensive domestic policy legislative agenda" for U.S. President Joe Biden's possible second White House term that seeks to "deliver equality, justice, and economic security for working people."
The CPC's Progressive Proposition Agenda is a seven-point plan aimed at lowering the cost of living, boosting wages and worker power, advancing justice, combating climate change and protecting the environment, strengthening democracy, breaking the corporate stranglehold on the economy, and bolstering public education.
"Progressives are proud to have been part of the most significant Democratic legislative accomplishments of this century. We have made real progress for everyday Americans—but there's much more work to be done," Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said in a statement.
"That's why the Progressive Caucus has identified these popular, populist, and possible solutions," she added. "Democrats in Congress can meet the urgent needs people are facing; rewrite the rules to ensure majorities of this country are no longer barred from the American promise of equality, justice, and economic opportunity; and motivate people with a vision of progressive governance under Democratic majorities in the House and Senate and a Democratic White House."
Progressive lawmakers have already introduced bills for many items on the agenda, including a Green New Deal for Public Schools, expanding the Supreme Court, comprehensive voting rights protection, and legalizing marijuana.
Critics noted the conspicuous absence of Medicare for All—once a top progressive agenda item—and foreign policy issues including ending Israel's genocide, apartheid, occupation, settler colonization, and ethnic cleansing in Palestine.
Jayapal toldNBC News that the CPC is focusing its blueprint exclusively on domestic goals—especially ones it feels can be achieved.
"The way we came to this agenda is to say that we were going to put into this agenda things that were populist and possible... and affected a huge number of people," she said. "We haven't taken a position on particularly Israel and Gaza in the progressive caucus, and so that's not on here."
The CPC agenda is backed by a wide range of labor, climate, environmental, civil rights, consumer, faith-based, and other organizations.
"The Congressional Progressive Caucus is leading the way for Congress to address the major issues affecting working families, from reducing healthcare and housing costs to strengthening workers' rights to join unions, earn living wages and benefits, and have safe workplaces," Service Employees International Union president Mary Kay Henry said in a statement.
"SEIU is proud to partner with the CPC to move these priorities forward and build a more equitable economy in which corporations are held accountable for their actions," she added.
Mary Small, chief strategy officer at Indivisible, said: "House progressives were the engine at the heart of our legislative accomplishments in 2021 and 2022. They've continued that momentum to be true governing partners to the Biden administration as those laws and programs are implemented."
"That's why Indivisible is so supportive of the CPC's Proposition Agenda, a bold vision for progressive governance in 2025 and beyond. From reproductive rights to saving our democracy to economic security for all, the CPC is driving forward exactly the sort of legislative goals we want to see in our next governing moment."
That moment is far from guaranteed, with not only the White House hanging in the balance as Biden will all but certainly face former Republican President Donald Trump in November's election but also the Senate Democratic Caucus clinging to a single-seat advantage over the GOP. Republicans currently hold the House of Representatives by a five-seat margin.
Keep ReadingShow Less
'McCarthyism Is Alive and Well': Google Fires 28 for Protesting Israel Contract
"These mass, illegal firings will not stop us," said organizers. "Make no mistake, we will continue organizing until the company drops Project Nimbus and stops powering this genocide."
Apr 18, 2024
The peace coalition No Tech for Apartheid accused Google of a "flagrant act of retaliation" late Wednesday night as the Silicon Valley giant announced it had fired 28 workers over protests against its cloud services contract with the Israeli government.
The firings came after Google organizers held two 10-hour sit-ins at the company's offices in Sunnyvale, California and New York City, demanding the termination of Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion contract under which Google and Amazon provide cloud infrastructure and data services for Israel—without any oversight regarding whether the Israel Defense Forces uses the services in its occupation of Palestinian territories and bombardment of Gaza.
Workers have denounced Project Nimbus since it was announced in 2021, but Israel's killing of at least 33,970 Palestinians in Gaza since October and its intentional starvation of civilians led employees to escalate their protests.
No Tech for Apartheid said in a statement that Google officials called the police to both offices to arrest nine protesters—dubbed the Nimbus Nine—on Tuesday morning, before utilizing "a dragnet of in-office surveillance" to fire nearly two dozen other employees on Wednesday.
"They punished all of the workers they could associate with this action in wholesale firings," said the coalition, which includes Jewish Voice for Peace and MPower Change, a Muslim-led anti-war group.
Google accused the workers of "bullying," "harassment," defacing property, and physically impeding other employees—allegations No Tech for Apartheid rejected as it noted organizers "have yet to hear from a single executive about" their concerns over Google's collaboration with Israel.
"This excuse to avoid confronting us and our concerns directly, and attempt to justify its illegal, retaliatory firings, is a lie," said the workers. "Even the workers who were participating in a peaceful sit-in and refusing to leave did not damage property or threaten other workers. Instead they received an overwhelmingly positive response and shows of support."
The organizers staged the sit-ins on the heels of reporting in Time magazine about new negotiations between Google and the Israeli government regarding further potential tech contracts.
Kate J. Sim, a child safety policy adviser at Google who said she was among those fired this week, said the terminations show "how terrified [executives] are of worker power."
Google employees have a history of harnessing worker power to change policies at the company. In 2018, Google terminated a deal with the U.S. Defense Department to develop drone and artificial intelligence (AI) technology through a contract called Project Maven. The decision followed the resignations of several employees and the condemnation of thousands of workers.
Calling Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian "genocide profiteers," No Tech for Apartheid said Wednesday that they will not stop demonstrating against Project Nimbus until they get a similar result.
"The truth is clear: Google is terrified of us," said the group. "They are terrified of workers coming together and calling for accountability and transparency from our bosses... The corporation is trying to downplay and discredit our power.
"These mass, illegal firings will not stop us," No Tech for Apartheid added. "On the contrary, they only serve as further fuel for the growth of this movement. Make no mistake, we will continue organizing until the company drops Project Nimbus and stops powering this genocide."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular