June, 06 2023, 01:08pm EDT
Climate Activists Across the US Call on Biden to End Fossil Fuel Era
Week of action begins on the White House steps and calls for Biden to use executive powers
Climate activists, frontline leaders, and environmental justice organizations are joining together from June 8–11th for a national week of action to send a strong message to President Biden: no more fossil fuels. With the approval of Willow Project, fast-tracking of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, and rollbacks for environmental protections, the US is doubling down on it’s role as the world’s top oil and gas producer at a time when scientists could not be clearer that stopping fossil fuels is the only way to avert global climate catastrophe.
The demonstrations will take place in 50 locations across the US from June 8–11th, and are endorsed by 64 Indigenous, climate, labor, and environmental justice organizations, including Sunrise, 350.org, and Indigenous Environmental Network. Lead sponsors include the Center for Popular Democracy, Zero Hour, the 350 Network Council, Fridays for Future, the Climate Organizing Hub, and the People vs. Fossil Fuels coalition, which includes over 1,200 organizations across the country.
The week of action begins on June 8th with a mass rally and sit-in on the doorstep of the White House to demand that Biden stop the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Other actions range from Paddle out Zenith, a land and water rally in Portland, Oregon, to a series of demonstrations across the Great Lake states to shut down Enbridge’s Line 5 oil pipeline. Across the country, communities are lifting up how each and every new fossil fuel project exacerbates the climate emergency and sacrifices Black, Brown, Indigenous, and poor white communities.
This national outcry signals the need for change in the Biden administration’s continued approval of new fossil fuel projects ahead of the UN Climate Ambition Summit in New York this September. Since President Biden’s disastrous approval of the Alaska Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) and Willow oil project and his debt ceiling deal that fast-tracks the Mountain Valley Pipeline, millions of people across the country have taken action to oppose new fossil fuel projects and hold Biden accountable for the promises he made when these climate activists helped elect him.
The national week of action on to end the era of fossil fuels reignites that fight and kicks off months of coordinated action to hold Biden accountable to his climate promises leading up to the UN Climate Ambition Summit. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres chided leaders like Biden at the White House climate summit, saying, “The science is clear: New fossil fuel projects are entirely incompatible” with the goals set in the 2015 Paris climate accord, “yet many countries are expanding capacity. I urge you to change course.”
Biden has the power right now, without Congress, to direct agencies to reject new fossil fuel projects and phase out federal fossil fuel production on public lands and waters. By declaring a national climate emergency, Biden could also unlock additional powers to limit fossil fuel exports, increase the availability of clean energy technologies, and ensure communities hit hardest by climate disasters receive the resources they need to rebuild.
For further comment:
Multiple spokespeople from frontline and national groups are available for comment. Please reach out to Mel Smith (us-comms@350.org) to be connected.
Find a full map of all actions at https://tinyurl.com/actionmap-EndtheEra
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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