Greenpeace USA Joins Over 500 Groups to End Fossil Fuel Subsidies

As part of the End Fossil Fuel Subsidies week of action, Greenpeace USA joined over 500 other groups to deliver a letter urging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to support the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies and other giveaways in any infrastructure, economic recovery and reconciliation legislative package. In addition to the letter, petitions from the groups demanding Congress and President Biden end fossil fuel subsidies have reached over 130,000 signatures.

At a rally on Capitol Hill this morning, Greenpeace USA Chief Operating Officer, Ebony Martin said:

"Giving any amount of taxpayer money to an industry that poisons our kids, our planet, and our democracy is outrageous. We are fighting for a world beyond fossil fuels in which everyday people's well-being, health, and families come first. It's time for President Biden and Congress to act now by shifting our money away from the fossil fuel industry and towards a clean, just energy system of the future."

The groups cite Pelosi's and Schumer's own calls for eliminating subsidies:

"In 2011, you rose on the floors of the House of Representatives and Senate in support of eliminating a raft of fossil fuel subsidies enshrined in federal law. These important speeches highlighted the injustice and destructiveness of these giveaways to an industry responsible for the destruction of communities, nature, and climate. As you noted, fossil fuels are outdated energy sources that produce enormous levels of pollution that harm our communities, natural areas, and climate. These impacts fall hardest on historically marginalized communities, including Black and Indigenous communities in particular."

Specifically, Speaker Pelosi, on the House floor, said, "It's long past time to turn off the spigot of public funds flowing to Big Oil... So I rise to ask my colleagues today: should the American taxpayers continue to subsidize Big Oil's profits?"

Similarly, Senator Schumer said to his colleagues, "You don't have to worry about [the fossil fuel industry's] desire to explore. They are looking every place they can. They don't have to have a subsidy to do it... So the time to repeal these giveaways is now." Senator Schumer is currently co-sponsoring a bill with Senator Ron Wyden to cut subsidies.

Fossil fuel subsidies are not only a gross taxpayer abuse, but also help incentivize the development and operation of oil and gas wells that heavily impact the health of communities around the country. The Biden Administration's budget aims to cut $120 billion in the biggest subsidies over the next 10 years.

In addition to Greenpeace USA, groups include NRDC Action Fund, Sierra Club, Oxfam America, Friends of the Earth Action, Food and Water Watch, Oil Change International, DNC Environment and Climate Crisis Council, and a wide range of health, environmental and other groups across the nation.