April, 21 2021, 12:00am EDT
300,000 People Send a Clear Message to Biden: Time's Up for Fossil Fuels
Photos and Video Available Here.
WASHINGTON
Today, youth strikers, climate impacted communities, and climate and environmental justice activists joined together to escalate the demand for President Joe Biden to #BuildBackFossilFree and stop all new fossil fuel projects, ahead of his Leaders Summit on Climate starting tomorrow, from April 22-23.
A Climate Clock traveled from Union Square in New York City to the White House in Washington, D.C. with a petition demanding Biden and world governments stop all fossil fuel expansion. Speakers represented climate impacted communities and the demands of the 300,000 people who signed the Build Back Fossil Free petitions. Speakers also demonstrated the inherent connections between climate and racial justice, with today's action taking place the day after the guilty conviction of Derek Chauvin in murdering George Floyd. Watch the recording here.
"On Day 1 in office, Biden cancelled Keystone XL. Now he must do the same with Line 3, the Dakota Access pipeline, and all new fossil fuel projects. There can be no meaningful climate action if we don't keep all fossil fuels in the ground. By doing so, Biden will show the world that the U.S. is serious about facing the climate crisis at scale and centering the communities most impacted," said Natalie Mebane, Policy Director of 350.org.
Biden's Leaders Summit on Climate presents a key opportunity for world leaders to commit to bold, transformative climate ambition ahead of COP26 in Glasgow this November. A projection of the climate clock has also been installed in Glasgow. Biden and world governments must drastically increase emission reduction targets to limit global warming to 1.5 degree Celsius. To do that, they must keep fossil fuels in the ground, including by stopping all new fossil fuel projects.
"The Biden Climate Summit is a big opportunity for the administration to end all fossil fuel projects that threaten our sacred lands, Manoomin(Wild Rice), Treaty's, and waters. There is no such thing as safe fossil fuel pipelines -- all pipelines leak -- and there is no time left to delay on bold climate action to protect my community and communities around the US," said Silas Neeland of White Earth Nation.
Morgan Brings Plenty, Social Media Intern at Indigenous Environmental Network added, "The Dakota Access pipeline is an illegally operated pipeline; it has never had all of its permits. Biden has it in his authority to shut it down. Yes, he shut down Keystone XL on Day One, but he needs to shut down all of Trump's pipelines', including DAPL, Line 3, and Mountain Valley. We will not accept anything less then the complete shutdown and removal of DAPL. Respect our existence or expect our resistance."
"I traveled from cancer alley to Washington, D.C. because our community is being poisoned by oil, gas, and petrochemical industries," said Sharon Lavigne, founder and director of RISE St. James. "We are fighting for our survival. President Biden must fulfill his promise to tackle climate change and environmental racism by revoking permits for Formosa Plastics' proposed petrochemical complex in St. James, and placing a moratorium on all new and expanding petrochemical plants."
As communities continue to rebuild and recover from the compound crises of COVID-19, racial and economic injustice, and devastating climate disasters, we are sending a clear signal to the Biden-Harris administration: it's not enough to Build Back Better -- we demand a Just Recovery to Build Back Fossil Free.
"As a young, Black environmentalist, I am clear in my demands that Biden must be resolute and proactive in his actions in order to avoid the worst of the climate crisis," said Elsa Mengistu, Climate Justice Consultant. "First and foremost, we must keep fossil fuels in the ground. Communities that make up all of what I am are the ones who are bearing the brunt of this climate crisis and that is why I call for comprehensive, community-conscious, holistic solutions that do not leave us behind. If we truly want to tackle this exponential crisis, I believe it's imperative that Biden centers and takes lead from communities of color and community-created solutions in his climate action."
QUOTE SHEET:
Jane Kleeb, Founder, Bold Alliance: Pres. Biden stood with an unlikely alliance of farmers, Tribal Nations, and climate advocates to reject the Keystone XL pipeline. Biden is showing a bold and new standard of leadership that all Democrats and Republicans should follow--he respects our communities, and listens to climate science. We look forward to Keystone XL being the first, but not the last, of the Trump pipelines that Biden rejects as we start to create good-paying union jobs for clean energy and modern infrastructure.
Selden Prentice, 350 Seattle: "While US policy leaders have known of the existence of climate change for at least 40 years, little to no federal policy changes have been enacted to address it. Now is the time for bold policy initiatives that will by 2030: keep fossil fuels in the ground, create a clean (renewable) electricity grid, a clean transportation sector, and mandated regenerative agriculture by the dominant corporate agricultural sector. At the same time, the Biden administration must include policy initiatives that allow for a just transition for workers, and that address the needs of front-line communities most affected by climate change."
Julieta Biegner, Communications & Campaigns Officer, Global Witness: "It's simple: the US has no credibility as a global climate leader while flooding the world with climate-wrecking fossil fuels. To show true climate leadership, President Biden must act to stop all new fossil fuel projects, which includes banning fossil fuel exports and protecting communities from environmental injustice."
Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director, Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN): "The clock is ticking, we are in a climate emergency, and we can no longer afford any further fossil fuel extraction, infrastructure, or false climate solutions that continue to prioritize profits over people. To address the escalating climate crisis, we must build back fossil free; and that requires listening to and respecting the rights of Indigenous communities, shutting down fossil fuel pipelines and petrochemical plants, and investing in community-led climate solutions and a care economy. The era of fossil fuels is over, and the time for a rights-based, just transition to regenerative, renewable energy is now."
Thomas Meyer, National Organizing Manager, Food & Water Watch: "Climate leadership starts at home. If President Biden wants to regain credibility with other world leaders, he first needs to regain the trust of the people in the United States who are most harmed by fracking and other dangerous fossil fuel projects. Whatever commitment the President announces tomorrow to reduce emissions will be meaningless without concrete action to keep fossil fuels in the ground."
Laura Berry, Research Lead, Climate Clock: "The Climate Clock makes clear the speed and scope of action that political leaders must take in order to limit the worst impacts of climate devastation. We'll never run out of time to fight back against climate disruption -- but we have less than seven years until we pass a critical threshold for limiting global warming below 1.5oC. We need real solutions from the Biden Administration in order to reach zero emissions as quickly as possible and to build the fossil fuel free, renewable energy future that climate justice demands."
Kassie Siegel, Director of the Center for Biological Diversity's Climate Law Institute: "To be a credible world climate leader, President Biden needs to stop approving all U.S. fossil fuel infrastructure and end oil and gas exports. He also needs to use his executive powers to declare a climate emergency and spur a democratic clean-energy revolution. From ending environmental racism in Cancer Alley to shutting down pipelines like Dakota Access and Line 3, we need Biden to seize this moment to be the climate president and build back fossil free."
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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"Despite overwhelming evidence that the Democratic Party's most devoted constituents wanted to end sales of weapons to Israel, the Biden administration kept sending them."
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The Israeli military on Thursday bombarded refugee camps in northern and central Gaza hours after inking a $5.2 billion deal with the United States to acquire more than two dozen F-15 fighter jets made by the American aerospace giant Boeing.
The agreement, part of a broader military aid package approved by the Biden administration and the U.S. Congress earlier this year, was finalized hours after Vice President Kamala Harris lost the 2024 election to Republican nominee Donald Trump following a campaign in which she resisted calls to support an arms embargo against Israel.
Though Trump at times tried to posture as a pro-peace candidate during the race, he publicly and privately signaled support for Israel's war on Gaza and Lebanon, telling far-right Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a recent call, "Do what you have to do."
Israel's Ministry of Defense called the F-15 deal "a landmark transaction" for fighter jets "equipped with cutting-edge weapons systems." The ministry said deliveries of the aircraft will begin in 2031.
"While focusing on immediate needs for advanced weaponry and ammunition at unprecedented levels, we're simultaneously investing in long-term strategic capabilities," the ministry said. "This F-15 squadron, alongside the third F-35 squadron procured earlier this year, represents a historic enhancement of our air power and strategic reach—capabilities that proved crucial during the current war."
Shortly following the announcement, Israeli forces killed at least 22 people in attacks on the Jabalia refugee camp and Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza—where Israel is engaged in an active campaign of ethnic cleansing—and on the Nuseirat refugee camp in the center of the Palestinian territory.
Norwegian Refugee Council secretary-general Jan Egeland, who traveled to areas of northern and central Gaza this week, said in a statement Thursday that the "complete destruction" he witnessed there was "worse than anything I could imagine as a long-time aid worker."
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As early as October 2023, NRC warned Israel, UK, US, Germany, & others, that Israeli "relocation orders" for civilian communities were forcible transfers, which under international law constitute an atrocity crime.
Since then there have been more than 60 "relocation orders"
1/2 pic.twitter.com/bsDvWKOqhY
— Jan Egeland (@NRC_Egeland) November 7, 2024
People here have been herded from unsafe location to unsafe location across the Gaza Strip.
They have lost everything, some having been forced to move more than 10 times.
Families I have spoken to here are enduring suffering almost unparalleled anywhere in recent history.
— Jan Egeland (@NRC_Egeland) November 7, 2024
Israel's latest deadly attacks on Gaza came after the conclusion of a U.S. election in which Gaza featured prominently, with Palestinian rights advocates warning that continued American support for Israel's assault would be politically damaging for Democrats—on top of being morally reprehensible and unlawful, given Israel's obstruction of humanitarian aid and repeated targeting of civilians.
New York Times writer Peter Beinart argued in a column Thursday that the election's outcome appeared to show that such concerns were justified.
"Despite overwhelming evidence that the Democratic Party's most devoted constituents wanted to end sales of weapons to Israel, the Biden administration kept sending them, even after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel expanded the war into Lebanon," Beinart wrote. "And not only did Ms. Harris not break with Mr. Biden's policy, she went out of her way to make voters who care about Palestinian rights feel unwelcome."
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Layla Elabed and Abbas Alawieh, co-founders of the Uncommitted National Movement, said in a statement Wednesday that "while there are many factors at play" in Harris' loss, "one undeniable truth remains: Neglecting the voices of those impacted by war has consequences."
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Shortly before Vice President Kamala Harris delivered her concession speech on Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders forcefully called out Democratic Party leadership for losing the White House and at least one chamber of Congress to Republicans.
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"Will the big money interests and well-paid consultants who control the Democratic Party learn any real lessons from this disastrous campaign? Will they understand the pain and political alienation that tens of millions of Americans are experiencing? Do they have any ideas as to how we can take on the increasingly powerful oligarchy which has so much economic and political power?" he asked. "Probably not."
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Progressives—who have responded to Trump's Electoral College and popular vote win by criticizing billionaires who backed him and promising "unprecedented resistance" during his second term—echoed Sanders' remarks.
Sharing Sanders' statement on X—the social media platform owned by billionaire Trump backer Elon Musk—United Auto Workers (UAW) communications director Jonah Furman said: "The task has been clear for a decade. The question is only whether and when we will rise to the task."
Separately, the union's president, Shawn Fain, said in a Wednesday statement that "UAW members around the country clocked in today under the same threat they faced yesterday: unchecked corporate greed destroying our lives, our families, and our communities."
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"Will our government stand with the working class, or keep doing the bidding of the billionaires?"
In a post-election column, Chuck Idelson, former communications senior strategist for National Nurses United, made the case that "amid the postmortems and reckoning that will now follow the wreckage of Donald Trump's return to 'absolute' power, as authorized by the Supreme Court, there are... two notes in particular that deserve a deeper dive."
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Historian Harvey J. Kaye, professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, took aim at the Democratic Party on social media Wednesday, noting failures to stand up to billionaires, raise the minimum wage, and pass the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act.
Morris Pearl, chair of the Patriotic Millionaires and a former managing director at BlackRock, said in a Wednesday statement that "a self-avowed authoritarian successfully wielded the economic frustrations of millions to win the most consequential election of our nation's history. The Democratic establishment has only itself to blame."
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While many critics of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris opposed the Democratic presidential nominee due to the Biden-Harris administration's nearly unconditional support for Israel's annihilation of Gaza, peace advocates on Wednesday warned that Republican President-elect Donald Trump could lift the few guardrails the Democrats had placed on Israel and unleash the key ally to seize all of Palestine.
"A Harris victory would not have stopped Israel's genocide in Gaza or drive to war across the Middle East, but Trump's racism, Islamophobia, and bigotry, and his close relationship with [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, could well enable Israel to pursue its desire for full control of Gaza and the West Bank," Lindsey German of the London-based Stop the War Coalition said in a statement.
"We face an extremely dangerous situation worldwide."
Israel has gradually and systematically seized more and more Palestinian lands since illegally occupying the Gaza Strip and West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in 1967. The goal of Israel's far right is expansion of Israeli territory to include what proponents call "Greater Israel," which is based on biblical boundaries that stretched from Africa to Turkey to Mesopotamia. Netanyahu has repeatedly displayed maps showing the Middle East without Palestine, all of whose territory is shown as part of Israel.
On Wednesday, far-right Israelis including senior government officials like National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich celebrated Trump's win. They are openly plotting ways to steal more land, including by ethnically cleansing Palestinians during the current war on Gaza, through home demolitions and forced expulsions in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and by expanding Jewish-only apartheid settlements that are illegal under international law.
David Friedman, who served as U.S. ambassador to Israel during Trump's first term, recently released a book advocating Israel's annexation of all of Palestine, a policy "based first and foremost on biblical prophecies and values," according to the author. Friedman envisions a situation in Palestine akin to the U.S. conquest and rule of Puerto Rico, in which Palestinians don't have voting rights but are granted limited autonomy so long as they act in accordance with Israeli law.
Powerful Trump backers also support annexation. Republican megadonor Miriam Adelson's wish list for the president-elect's second term includes Israeli annexation of the West Bank and U.S. recognition of the move.
During Trump's first term, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ended a 30-year State Department policy under which Israeli settler colonies in the occupied West Bank were viewed as inconsistent with international law. Pompeo later explained that as an evangelical Christian, his position was based on the biblical belief that Israel is God's "promised land" for his "chosen people," the Jews.
In February, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reversed the so-called Pompeo Doctrine, declaring Israeli settlements to be "inconsistent with international law"—even as he provided diplomatic cover for the war on Gaza for which Israel is on trial at the International Court of Justice for alleged genocide.
According to Israeli media reports, Trump has pushed Netanyahu to wrap up the Gaza war before he takes office next January. Many observers fear that could mean Israeli forces ramp up already devastating attacks that have killed more than 43,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, while wounding more than 102,000 others and displacing, starving, and sickening most of Gaza's population.
United Nations human rights officials said last week that Israeli forces are creating an "apocalyptic" situation in northern Gaza, where the invaders are being accused of carrying out the so-called General's Plan to starve and then ethnically cleanse Palestinians from parts of the coastal enclave in order to make way for Israeli recolonization.
"We face an extremely dangerous situation worldwide, with a growing arms race," warned German. "We in the anti-war movement must redouble our efforts to end the genocide and wars in the Middle East. We also need peace in Ukraine, for the West to stop arming Ukraine, and for an end to the escalation of militarism and conflict aimed at China in the Pacific."
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