July, 28 2022, 01:01pm EDT
350.Org Reacts to Senate's Surprise Climate Deal; No Bait and Switch Tactics on Climate Legislation!
WASHINGTON
Today, after weeks of back and forth, Sen. Joe Manchin and Sen. Charles E. Schumer announced they had reached a long-sought agreement on climate and energy legislation. Climate activists have given limited support, but immediately raised concerns about the bill.
As a global organization working for climate justice, 350.org praises efforts to help the climate, and supports all efforts to phase in clean energy technologies, while phasing out dirty fossil fuels. It is outdated fossil fuels that cause climate chaos, massive human suffering, lead to a loss of billions of dollars to the US economy, while driving up food prices and inflation that especially hit BIPOC communities.
JL Andrepont, MPA, PhDc. Senior Policy Campaigner and Policy Analyst at 350.org (they/them), stated,
"This latest bill has a few good pieces: lengthening the tax credits for green energy projects from two to ten years to ensure steady growth in the wind and solar industry; providing incentives for consumers to buy electric vehicles; and installing heat pumps to make green energy use more widespread. However, the amount of giveaways to the fossil fuel industry, and specifically to Sen. Joe Manchin, is so wide in scope, that it turns all of the gains in addressing the climate crisis into a moot point."
"The bill ensures the Mountain Valley Pipeline project will move forward, which will negatively impact rural communities and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. The bill guarantees new fossil fuel leasing in the Gulf Coast, contributing to the Black, brown, and Indigenous communities who live there as being a sacrifice zone to the fossil fuel industry. And, the bill props up false solutions, like the technological carbon capture scam industry, which will only contribute to the further pollution of the planet by providing more giveaways to the fossil fuel industry."
"Enough is enough! The Biden Administration, in a desperate need to capitulate to Manchin, is engaging in a bait and switch tactic on climate legislation. With these and the many other underhanded gifts to him and the fossil fuel industry, this bill is more of a climate scam bill than a climate change bill. How are we supposed to hit our emission reduction targets, be a beacon to the rest of the world, and show that we are committed to addressing climate change if our best efforts are two steps backward? This bill is a sham, and while we are grateful for the meager crumbs Manchin has allowed us to have to try to save the planet, his pocketbook is the real winner here."
"Our goal at 350.org continues to be to address the global climate crisis through a climate justice lens. What the world needs now is an unequivocal commitment by those in power to shut down the fossil fuel industry and do everything possible to support the frontline communities who contribute the least to this crisis, but are already suffering the most from it."
350 is building a future that's just, prosperous, equitable and safe from the effects of the climate crisis. We're an international movement of ordinary people working to end the age of fossil fuels and build a world of community-led renewable energy for all.
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"States must refrain from any conduct that reverses, slows down, or truncates the outcome of measures necessary to protect human rights in the face of the impacts of climate change," a summary of the 234-page ruling states. "Any rollback of climate or environmental policies that affect human rights must be exceptional, duly justified based on objective criteria, and comply with standards of necessity and proportionality."
"The court also held that... states must take all necessary measures to reduce the risks arising, on the one hand, from the degradation of the global climate system and, on the other, from exposure and vulnerability to the effects of such degradation," the summary adds.
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"These phenomena highlight the need to respond urgently and based on the principles of equity, justice, cooperation, and sustainability, with a human rights-based approach," the court asserted.
IACtHR President Judge Nancy Hernández López said following the ruling that "states must not only refrain from causing significant environmental damage but have the positive obligation to take measures to guarantee the protection, restoration, and regeneration of ecosystems."
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The advisory opinion builds on two landmark decisions last year. In April 2024, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the Swiss government violated senior citizens' human rights by refusing to abide by scientists' warnings to rapidly phase out fossil fuel production.
The following month, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea found in an advisory opinion that greenhouse gas emissions are marine pollution under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and that signatories to the accord "have the specific obligation to adopt laws and regulations to prevent, reduce, and control" them.
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Climate defenders around the world hailed Thursday's advisory opinion, with United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk calling it "a landmark step forward for the region—and beyond."
"As the impact of climate change becomes ever more visible across the world, the court is clear: People have a right to a stable climate and a healthy environment," Türk added. "States have a bedrock obligation under international law not to take steps that cause irreversible climate and environmental damage, and they have a duty to act urgently to take the necessary measures to protect the lives and rights of everyone—both those alive now and the interests of future generations."
Amnesty International head of strategic litigation Mandi Mudarikwa said, "Today, the Inter-American Court affirmed and clarified the obligations of states to respect, ensure, prevent, and cooperate in order to realize human rights in the context of the climate crisis."
"Crucially, the court recognized the autonomous right to a healthy climate for both individuals and communities, linked to the right to a healthy environment," Mudarikwa added. "The court also underscored the obligation of states to protect cross-border climate-displaced persons, including through the issuance of humanitarian visas and protection from deportation."
Delta Merner, lead scientist at the Science Hub for Climate Litigation at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said in a statement that "this opinion sets an important precedent affirming that governments have a legal duty to regulate corporate conduct that drives climate harm."
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Markus Gehring, a fellow and director of studies in law at Hughes Hall at the University of Cambridge in England, called the advisory opinion "highly inspiring" and "seminal."
Drew Caputo, vice president of litigation for lands, wildlife, and oceans at Earthjustice, said that "the Inter-American Court's ruling makes clear that climate change is an overriding threat to human rights in the world."
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Climate litigation is increasing globally in the wake of the 2015 Paris climate agreement. In the Americas, Indigenous peoples, children, and green groups are among those who have been seeking climate justice via litigation.
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has put 144 employees on leave after they signed a letter criticizing the Trump administration's "harmful" policies.
EPA press secretary Brigit Hirsch accused the employees of "undermining, sabotaging, and undercutting the administration's agenda." But the union that represents these employees is calling it an act of illegal "retaliation."
The "declaration of dissent", published by Stand Up for Science Monday, had been signed by 620 people as of Thursday. Addressed to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, the letter accused the administration of "recklessly undermining" the agency's mission under his watch. It accused the administration of "ignoring scientific consensus to benefit polluters."
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Since Trump retook office, the administration has eviscerated policies meant to contain pollution, slashing funding for green energy production and electric vehicles while championing increased fossil fuel drilling and consumption. It has also rolled back the enforcement of limits on cancer-causing "forever chemicals" in water.
The signatories also pointed to the Trump EPA's "undermining of public trust" by using official channels to trumpet "misinformation and overtly partisan rhetoric."
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"Make no mistake: your actions endanger public health and erode scientific progress—not only in America—but around the world," the letter said.
The employees also accused the administration of "promoting a culture of fear." They cited comments by top Trump officials, such as Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, who has said he wanted to put EPA employees "in trauma" and make them unable "to go to work because they are increasingly viewed as the villains."
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