November, 13 2021, 02:18pm EDT

For Immediate Release
Contact:
Email: pressdesk.int@greenpeace.org, +31 (0) 20 718 2470 (available 24 hours)
COP26 Ends in Glasgow
Reacting to the conclusion of COP26 in Glasgow, Greenpeace International Executive Director Jennifer Morgan said:
"It's meek, it's weak and the 1.5degC goal is only just alive, but a signal has been sent that the era of coal is ending. And that matters.
"While the deal recognizes the need for deep emissions cuts this decade, those commitments have been punted to next year. Young people who've come of age in the climate crisis won't tolerate many more outcomes like this. Why should they when they're fighting for their futures?
GLASGOW
Reacting to the conclusion of COP26 in Glasgow, Greenpeace International Executive Director Jennifer Morgan said:
"It's meek, it's weak and the 1.5degC goal is only just alive, but a signal has been sent that the era of coal is ending. And that matters.
"While the deal recognizes the need for deep emissions cuts this decade, those commitments have been punted to next year. Young people who've come of age in the climate crisis won't tolerate many more outcomes like this. Why should they when they're fighting for their futures?
"Glasgow was meant to deliver on firmly closing the gap to 1.5degC and that didn't happen, but in 2022 nations will now have to come back with stronger targets. The only reason we got what we did is because young people, Indigenous leaders, activists and countries on the climate frontline forced concessions that were grudgingly given. Without them, these climate talks would have flopped completely. Our once stable climate is now breaking down around us, you see it every day in wildfires, hurricanes, droughts and melting ice. Time's up, we've run out of road, and as a matter of self-survival we need to urgently mobilize to create irrepressible pressure that finally ends the era of all fossil fuels."
"COP26 saw progress on adaptation, with the developed countries finally beginning to respond to the calls of developing countries for funding and resources to cope with rising temperatures. There was a recognition that vulnerable countries are suffering real loss and damage from the climate crisis now, but what was promised was nothing close to what's needed on the ground. This issue must be at the top of the agenda for developed countries as the COP goes to Egypt next year.
"The line on phasing out unabated coal and fossil fuel subsidies is weak and compromised but its very existence is nevertheless a breakthrough, and the focus on a just transition is essential. The call for emissions reductions of 45% by the end of this decade is in line with what we need to do to stay under 1.5degC and brings the science firmly into this deal. But it needs to be implemented.
"The offsets scam got a boost in Glasgow with the creation of new loopholes that are too big to tolerate, endangering nature, Indigenous Peoples and the 1.5degC goal itself. The U.N. Secretary-General announced that a group of experts will bring vital scrutiny to offset markets, but much work still needs to be done to stop the greenwashing, cheating and loopholes giving big emitters and corporations a pass."
Update:
"They changed a word but they can't change the signal coming out of this COP, that the era of coal is ending. If you're a coal company executive this COP saw a bad outcome.
"It's in the interests of all countries, including those who still burn coal, to transition to clean renewable energy, and richer countries need to do more to support the shift. Our future depends on it."
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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As congressional Republicans mull potentially imposing stricter work requirements for adults who rely on federal nutrition aid as part of a push to pass a GOP-backed reconciliation bill, an analysis from the progressive think tank the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities released Wednesday states that such a move could take away food "from millions of people in low-income households" who are having a hard time finding steady employment or face hurdles to finding work.
The analysis is based on a proposal regarding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) from House Agriculture Committee member Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), which, if enacted, the group estimates would translate into an estimated 6 million people being at risk of losing their food assistance.
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Under Johnson's proposal, work requirements would apply to adults ages 18-65, and they would also be expanded to adults who have children over the age of seven. Per CBPP, Johnson's proposal would also "virtually eliminate" the ability of states to waive the three-month time limit in response to local labor market conditions, like in cases where there are insufficient jobs
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The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday heard arguments over what could become the country's first taxpayer-funded religious charter school—and opponents of the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School renewed their warnings about the proposal.
Faith leaders, parents, and educators celebrated last June, when the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled against establishing St. Isidore. The test case for all such schools has now advanced to the country's highest court, which has a right-wing supermajority.
Reporting on over two hours of arguments Wednesday, Law Dork's Chris Geidner wrote that "the religious supremacy movement from the right's majority on the U.S. Supreme Court—with its outside helpers—appeared likely to... OK the first religious charter school in the country."
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It appears very likely that the Supreme Court will force Oklahoma to approve and fund a Catholic charter school that reserves the right to indoctrinate students in Catholicism, force them to attend mass, and discriminate against non-Catholics. The three liberals sound increasingly exasperated.
— Mark Joseph Stern ( @mjsdc.bsky.social) April 30, 2025 at 11:52 AM
According toThe Associated Press:
If Roberts sides with the liberals, the court would be tied 4-4, an outcome that would leave the state court decision in place, but would leave the issue unresolved nationally.
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Proud to join @faithfulamerica.bsky.social outside of SCOTUS ahead of oral arguments in the OK religious charter school case, which challenges whether public funds can be used to support religious charter schools. As religious Americans, we say the separation of church and state is good for both!
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— Interfaith Alliance (@interfaithalliance.org) April 30, 2025 at 10:12 AM
Chris Yarrell, an attorney at the Center for Law and Education, similarly warned in a Common Dreams opinion piece earlier this month that "if the court sides with St. Isidore, the ripple effects could be seismic, triggering a wave of religious charter school applications and fundamentally altering the landscape of public education."
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