November, 18 2020, 11:00pm EDT
![Greenpeace](https://assets.rbl.ms/32012670/origin.png)
Grassroots Coalition, Members of Congress Occupy Democratic National Committee Headquarters to Demand Climate Action From President-Elect Biden
Advocates for bold climate agenda demand action to create millions of new jobs while addressing intersecting crises of climate change, racial injustice, and economic inequity.
WASHINGTON
A coalition of grassroots groups, Black, Indigenous, and Brown leaders from across the nation began a direct action at the Democratic National Committee Headquarters in Washington to demand that President-Elect Biden and his administration follow through on a bold agenda to address the climate crisis. They were joined by members of Congress who support that agenda.
This action is led by youth, movement leaders, frontline activists, and artists collectively representing a range of identities and communities confronting the interlocking crises in front of us. Against great obstacles during this pandemic, people across the country turned out in record numbers to pick new leaders who will care and govern for all of us. As a result, Joe Biden has been elected president on the most ambitious climate platform of any nominee for a major party in history. The people have spoken, and we are demanding a climate champion in the White House.
President-Elect Biden himself has outlined four Day One priorities for his administration: COVID-19, economic recovery, racial equity, and the climate crisis. By embracing bold, holistic, and forward-thinking solutions -- a Green New Deal -- he can navigate out of multiple crises at once.
Photo and video from the entire 24-hour #BidenBeBrave occupation are available at: https://media.greenpeace.org/collection/27MDHUS546A
A livestream of the rally frontline leaders and members of Congress is available at: https://fb.watch/1SwwBU-xH2/
Activists and coalition members from a diverse range of backgrounds spoke out about the importance of bold action.
"We are running out of time to save our children's future and our planet, we must act NOW in order to provide a clean and just world for all," said Ta'Sina Sapa Win, Cheyenne River Grassroots Collective.
Janet Redman, Climate Campaign Director with Greenpeace USA, added: "Against great obstacles during this pandemic, people across the country turned out in record numbers to pick new leaders who will care and govern for all of us. Because of our work to put him in office, Joe Biden now has a massive opportunity in front of him to help millions of people build better lives for themselves and their families. To get it right, he must embrace action at the scale science and justice demand. It's time for Biden to say 'yes' to a Green New Deal and 'no' to fossil fuels."
"Let's cut to the chase," said Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright, Policy Coordinator, Climate Justice Alliance. "Marginalized Black, Brown, and Indigenous folk came out to vote, which is the only reason there will even be a Biden administration. The President-Elect must center these communities and dismantle the root causes of interlinked crises including COVID and climate change - white 'supremacy,' patriarchy, and colonization. He can demonstrate that, 'he'll always have our backs' by scaling up frontline solutions through a Green New Deal rooted in a Just Transition for workers and communities, anchored by the eight pillars of the THRIVE Agenda and the 14 planks for Regenerative Economies. Our lives, our people and our solutions must be respected and seen, every day, as important as our votes every two and four years."
Margaret Kwateng, National Green New Deal Organizer of Grassroots Global Justice, added, "Over the last eight months of this pandemic, we have called the labor of frontline workers essential. We have come to see domestic workers, nurses, teachers, food producers, and all those who care for our loved ones as the foundation of our lives and economy. The Green New Deal offers a Biden/Harris administration the opportunity to respond to the crises exacerbated by COVID in a way that builds toward a caring, just and regenerative economy."
Elected officials also joined the coalition members to press for bold action.
"Thanks to the hard work of young people, working-class people, and communities of color, our movement elected President-Elect Joe Biden and candidates like myself by historic margins," said Representative-Elect Mondaire Jones. "Now, with just years left before irreparable damage is done to our planet, we have the opportunity to honor the promises we made on the campaign trail and get to work to end environmental racism and invest in a green jobs program that will help all Americans."
Senator Ed Markey added, "Young voters came out in record numbers this Election Day to send a clear message for urgent and aggressive climate action. Removing Donald Trump from the White House was a critical first step, but now we must work together to make the Green New Deal a reality. We simply cannot afford half-measures in this effort to save our economy, our democracy, and our very civilization."
"It's time to enact a bold, progressive vision for our green economy," said Representative Ro Khanna. "Thank you to the leaders of this mission like Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, Sen. Markey, and the Sunrise Movement for working to make this vision a reality within the Biden Administration. I'm honored to work alongside you."
Greenpeace is a global, independent campaigning organization that uses peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future.
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"The U.S. has become a petrostate and is still, even under President Biden, permitting new drilling," John Sterman of MIT said. "The developed countries don't show any significant efforts to limit drilling."
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Five wealthy countries including the United States have led a global surge in oil and gas development in 2024, threatening international climate goals, according to an analysis published by The Guardian on Wednesday.
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The five states are responsible for more than two-thirds of all oil and gas licenses issued globally since 2020, with the U.S. alone accounting for half of the world total. President Joe Biden's administration increased oil and gas licensing by 20% over Trump-era levels, and issued a record 758 new extraction licenses in 2023, according to the analysis.
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Sterman pointed to a "fundamental contradiction" between rich countries' international commitments and their ongoing fossil fuel expansion. "We can't keep going on like this," he said.
Revealed: wealthy western countries lead in global oil and gas expansion
Surge by world’s wealthiest countries – such as the US and the UK- threatens to unleash 12bn tonnes of planet-heating emissions.
By @olliemilman & @ninalakhani https://t.co/esY5IuIfi9
— jonathanwatts (@jonathanwatts) July 24, 2024
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The Conservative-led U.K. government issued a surge of North Sea licenses in the first half of this year, but lost power to the Labour Party following a general election earlier this month. It's not yet clear if Labour will be able or willing to rescind licenses already issued. Currently the U.K. is set to finish 2024 with 72 licenses for projects that would create 101 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions over their lifetimes—a 50-year high, according to the IISD analysis. Norway and Australia are also seeing major upticks this year.
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The expansion also comes in spite of disturbing climate news—2023 was hottest year on record, June was the 13th consecutive hottest month, and Monday was the hottest day, having broken a record set the previous day—and dire warnings from leading international institutions. No new fossil fuel projects can proceed if the world is to meet the 1.5° Paris agreement target, the International Energy Agency declared in 2021.
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Secretary of State John Thurston, a Republican, moved earlier this month to disqualify the petition that advocates had spent months gathering signatures for, claiming organizers had failed to provide information about paid signature-gatherers who had worked on the campaign run by Arkansans for Limited Government (AFLG).
On Tuesday evening, the court ruled that Thurston must begin "the initial count of signatures collected by volunteer canvassers according to A.C.A. 7-9-126(a)," but said nothing about whether signatures gathered by paid workers needed to be counted.
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"We are heartened by this outcome, which honors the constitutional rights of Arkansans to participate in direct democracy."
AFLG turned in more than 101,000 signatures in time for the July 5 deadline, including an estimated 87,382 that were collected by volunteers and 14,143 gathered by paid workers, according to the Arkansas Times.
The state requires a petition for a constitutional amendment to have at least 90,704 signatures to qualify for the November election ballots—so if Thurston is required to count only the signatures collected by volunteers and does not have to initiate the cure period, AFLG's petition may fall short.
The state Supreme Court did leave open the possibility of an additional ruling on the matter, saying the panel "reserves the right to issue further orders and proceed in accordance with state law."
Despite the uncertainty, AFLG said in a statement that "the will of the people won" this round of the fight to ensure Arkansas residents can vote for abortion rights in November.
"On behalf of 101,000 Arkansas voters, 800 volunteers, and the AFLG team, we thank the court for upholding democracy in Arkansas," said the group. "We are heartened by this outcome, which honors the constitutional rights of Arkansans to participate in direct democracy, the voices of 101,000 Arkansas voters who signed the petition, and the work of hundreds of volunteers across the state who poured themselves into this effort."
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Targeting humanitarian relief personnel is a war crime.
#Gaza
Heavy shooting from the Israeli Forces at a UN convoy heading to Gaza city.
While there are no casualties, our teams had to duck and take cover.
This took place yesterday. The teams were traveling in clearly marked UN armoured cars & wearing UN vests.
One vehicle…
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) July 22, 2024
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