Peoples Climate Movement Launches Rise for Climate, Jobs, and Justice September 8th

On Thursday, May 24, the Peoples Climate Movement held a telepresser to launch the "Rise for Climate, Jobs, and Justice September 8th" mobilization. On September 8th, four days before the start of the Global Climate Action Summit and two months before the midterm elections, people from across the country and around the world will take to the streets to demand bold action on climate change. At GCAS, mayors, governors, and CEOs from the US and beyond are expected to announce plans to make further emissions cuts a part of global efforts to combat climate change. Communities are calling on these leaders to ramp up their ambitions.

The Rise for Climate, Jobs, and Justice September 8th mobilization builds upon a year of strategic movement building in a set of states that will energize local, state, and national efforts and lay the foundation for a long-lasting, sustainable climate movement.

Last year, as the Trump Administration rolled back climate and health policies, along with many others, more than 200,000 people marched in the streets of Washington D.C. in resistance. At the same time, we saw hundreds of local elected officials make verbal commitments to climate action. This year, the Peoples Climate Movement aims to transform the energy of resistance into action by calling on leaders and elected officials to invest in real solutions to the climate crisis that prioritize the most impacted and vulnerable of our communities, like a massive, just transition to a 100% renewable economy that ensures safe and healthy communities, the right to organize for all workers, and millions of family-sustaining jobs.

Paul Getsos, National Director, Peoples Climate Movement said, "PCM's work to lift up Climate, Jobs, and Justice now, prior to GCAS, and in November is not only critical in this political moment, but supports our overall goal of building out a climate movement that is long lasting and sustainable. We are creating the space for our partners to amplify, and be led by, the often overlooked voices of their constituents. Rise for Climate, Jobs, and Justice September 8th is a mobilization of these voices across the country and around the world, building power to bring about a new, clean energy economy."

Branden Snyder, Executive Director, Good Jobs Now!said, "The role of Good Jobs Now in Detroit is to raise the issue of environmental racism, educate on the impact Climate Change is having in our city and connect it to the everyday economic justice issues that Detroiters know very well to this fight. The effects of oil and gas pollution are disproportionately afflicting African-Americans, particularly with higher cancer and respiratory issues affecting Detroiters who live near incinerators and refineries. We see environmental racism in the rising heating cost and the damage that occurs after heavy rains because of our old and "grey" infrastructural system. Our work with the PCM is to build a people powered movement to fight against it."

Miya Yoshitani, Executive Director, Asian Pacific Environmental Networksaid, Leaders around the world should be looking at solutions through the lens of people that have been most impacted and who will be most impacted by climate change. This means going beyond increasing temperatures, droughts, and rising sea levels; and recognizing that climate change is a threat multiplier for working families everywhere. For families facing housing insecurity and rising food and energy costs, people who need jobs where you don't have to trade your health for a living wage. Our communities are at the forefront of creating solutions to the climate crisis. And elected officials should follow their lead."

Lenore Friedlaender, Assistant to the President of SEIU Local 32BJsaid, "Working people are being devastated by climate change. Extreme weather, rising sea levels, chronic diseases like asthma that are made worse by pollution, the lack of clean drinking water in our schools and communities all take a toll on working class, people of color and poor communities. Climate change at a time of increasing economic inequality is a toxic combination for the majority of americans. We have the opportunity to create good jobs in wind, solar and the renewable energy sector that move us to a healthier future and a more just society. The time to act is now."

Estrella Sainburg, Circle Organizer, GreenFaith said, "September 8th marks a global day of action because simply put, stopping the climate crisis is going to take all of us. Across the world, communities will rise up to demand that elected officials raise the bar and step up their commitments. "Real climate action" doesn't mean hollow words. It means a fast, fair, and just transition away from fossil fuels to a 100% renewable energy economy, that protects the most vulnerable communities already impacted by climate change and creates good paying jobs and opportunities for all. These are some of the real solutions that our communities need and deserve. We will use the Global Climate Action Summit as a key moment to put ourselves on the right path of action and implementation. This is the moral obligation at hand for our leaders and we are calling on them to step up to the plate."

Reverend Leo Woodberry, Pastor of Kingdom Living Temple and Executive Director of New Alpha Community Development Corporationsaid, "Only when we put Justice First, Can we ensure that we have a just transition that addresses Climate Change, Jobs with a living wage, and to improve the lives of the least among us."

The Peoples Climate Movement uses two key strategies to demand bold action on climate change: mass mobilization and movement alignment. By mobilizing massive numbers of people on the ground; finding alignment with partners under the banner of climate, jobs, and justice; and lifting up our core priorities of economic and racial justice, we build the power required to win real and lasting climate policy on the federal, state, and local level.