June, 05 2019, 12:00am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
David Turnbull, david@priceofoil.org, 202-316-3499
Collin Rees, collin@priceofoil.org, 308-293-3159
Inslee's International Climate Plan: Stop Funding Fossils, Ramp Up Ambition
Oil Change U.S. response
WASHINGTON
Today, presidential candidate and Governor of Washington Jay Inslee released his latest climate policy platform plank, focused on international climate efforts. In response, David Turnbull, Strategic Communications Director at Oil Change U.S., released the following statement:
"Governor Jay Inslee's new international climate plan is a robust, thorough, and considered plan of climate action on the international scale that would move the United States back towards a true global leadership position if implemented effectively.
"The bar keeps getting pushed higher for the climate plans from Democratic presidential candidates, and this is exactly the kind of competition we need in order to confront the fossil fuel industry and address the climate crisis head-on. Today, it's Governor Inslee's turn, once again, to challenge the field. With his international climate policy plan, Governor Inslee makes it clear that simply saying 'I will rejoin the Paris Agreement' is nowhere near enough to show true climate leadership on the global stage.
"Governor Inslee's plan takes rejoining the Paris Agreement as a starting point and launches into a robust plan of action, including ramping up ambition within the UN process, as well as ending international fossil fuel finance and subsidies for fossil fuel production. The plan also includes critical support for clean energy access abroad, properly aligning the entirety of U.S. foreign policy with our climate imperatives, appropriately kicking big polluters out of the UN climate negotiations, and rightfully holding the fossil fuel industry and petrostates to account for climate crimes and impacts.
"This latest piece of Governor Inslee's 'Climate Mission' is the strongest yet. We hope other candidates step up to join Inslee in recognizing that addressing the climate crisis at a global scale means ending fossil fuel subsidies everywhere, stepping up American leadership aggressively, and investing in the most vulnerable communities at home and abroad.
"With numerous climate plans coming from Democratic presidential candidates on a near-daily basis, it seems natural that the Democratic National Committee provide a forum for a robust, climate-focused debate so candidates can challenge each other on the details of their plans. We urge Chair Tom Perez to heed the growing calls by scheduling such a debate."
Oil Change International is a research, communications, and advocacy organization focused on exposing the true costs of fossil fuels and facilitating the ongoing transition to clean energy.
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