At Capitol Press Conference, Members of Congress & Climate Justice Advocates Urge President Biden to Declare a Climate Emergency
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 27, 2022
Contact: Cassidy DiPaola, cassidy@fossilfree.media, 401-441-7196
At Capitol Press Conference, Members of Congress & Climate Justice Advocates Urge President Biden to Declare a Climate Emergency
Washington, D.C. – Members of Congress joined with leading climate justice advocates and frontline community leaders at a Capitol Hill press conference this afternoon to urge President Biden to declare a climate emergency and use the full suite of his executive authorities to end the country’s dependence on fossil fuels.
“What the hell are we waiting for? We have to get something done like yesterday. The President must declare a climate emergency and mobilize every resource we have to respond to it,” said Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY-16).
“This is not code red – we’ve gone way beyond code red. We need a Climate Emergency and we need it now,” said John Beard of the Port Arthur Community Action Network. “If we don’t do it, what will rest on our heads – to our eternal shame and damnation – will be that at humanity’s greatest moment we failed.”
The event was organized by People vs. Fossil Fuels, a coalition of over 1,200 groups that have been urging Biden to issue a climate emergency declaration and stop the federal approval of fossil fuel projects since his inauguration, and the Green New Deal Network, a 50-state campaign led by climate, labor and progressive groups, in partnership with the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Speakers at the event highlighted the growing climate catastrophes unfolding across the United States and around the world, from heat waves and wildfires to this week’s historic flash floods in Missouri, imploring Biden to act with the urgency of his rhetoric.
“People from frontline communities right now are dying right now,” said Ashley Engle of the Ikiya Collective. “Your Presidential legacy will be determined by the biggest threat this nation has ever faced, apart from the ongoing colonization of indigenous lands.This is a climate emergency. And, Joe Biden, we are calling on you to stop wavering, to stop playing with our lives, and act accordingly.”
“Here's why we have to act now. In my district, the Rio Grande river is running dry. For the first time in decades, the life-giving river that our communities have depended on for thousands of years is literally dry. Our farmers are not going to be able to finish their seasons. Our tribes, our communities, do not know what the future will hold for them,” said Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM-1).
Speakers also connected the dots between the climate emergency and the obscene profits of the fossil fuel industry, which has taken advantage of the war in Ukraine to drive up prices and push for more drilling and development. Later this week, Big Oil companies including Shell, Exxon, and Chevron, are expected to announce record Quarter 2 profits – money they’ve taken directly out of the pockets of everyday Americans.
“We constantly talk about how we are going to pay for this and that, but why isn't anyone asking how we’re paying for the fossil fuel subsidies? Where is the subsidy for mother earth? It is this time and this moment that we have to act,” said Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-13).
With coal-baron Senator Joe Manchin and all 50 Republicans conspiring to kill climate action in the Senate, President Biden is under mounting pressure to do more via executive action to address the growing climate emergency. Immediate executive actions the president could take include expanding the use of the Defense Production Act to spur clean energy development, stopping the federal approval of new fossil fuel projects, following through on his campaign promise to stop leasing our public lands and waters to the oil and gas industry, strengthening national environmental justice programs, and issuing a nationwide cap on greenhouse gasses.
“This declaration would have a real and immediate impact. Declaring a climate emergency would unlock a broad set of powers that would reduce our reliance on fossil fuels,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-7) “With the authority that’s granted under this kind of emergency, President Biden and his administration will be able to ramp up the manufacturing and deployment of clean energy technologies and mobilize domestic industry, and develop a resilient energy infrastructure.”
“Declaring a climate emergency actually unlocks significant powers that we can really use to combat that climate catastrophe. That means unlocking military funds to actually go toward reconstruction of our system so that it is renewable and just,” said Jean Su of the Center for Biological Diversity.
Declaring a climate emergency, far from being a merely symbolic step, would unlock additional executive powers that the president could leverage to address the crisis at hand: banning crude oil exports, stopping foreign fossil fuel investment, and directing Pentagon funds to renewable energy and electric transportation infrastructure. The President also has a suite of non-emergency powers. With his non-emergency powers he can, turbocharge his Defense Production Act clean energy program by redirecting existing budgets, such as the $650 billion federal procurement budget, to the program, stop issuing new leases on our public lands and waters to the fossil fuel industry, and stop permitting fossil fuel infrastructure projects like pipelines and plastic plants.
“It's not just rhetorical – it's not just sending an emotional message that needs to be sent. It's actually very practical. It will give Biden some funds to start making progress on the investments in solar, wind, battery, and electric vehicles around America,” said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA-17).
“Some of the simple things that we need to do – dealing with urban heat island effects, etc.– we can do now. The faster we get the declaration, the faster we get access to the resources, the faster we can get people relief, the faster we can save lives,” said Rep Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12).
““We have been asking for months for this to happen. I hope this is climate emergency week here in Washington, DC, but the truth is every week is climate emergency week. This not only is a bonafide national and global emergency – it is the most pressing emergency that we’ve ever seen and will ever work on. It is already killing people, reshaping how we live. where we live, and if left unchecked it threatens to make large swaths of this planet unliveable,” said Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA-2).
Combined, these initiatives could cut hundreds of millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions, spur clean energy production across the country, and help increase the resiliency of communities to growing climate impacts.
By pursuing a strong set of executive actions, Biden could also show the young people and progressive voters who fueled his election that he is finally following through on his promise for bold climate action. A recent Morning Consult/Politico survey shows that 4 in 5 Democrats and 52% of overall voters would support Biden declaring a climate emergency.
“It's time for President Biden to act alongside us and treat the climate crisis like the emergency it is,” said John Paul Mejia of the Sunrise Movement. “Our communities, and our generation, cannot withstand another could-have-been climate president. On that note, President Biden has a choice to make. Will he side with millions of Americans and young people and declare a climate emergency and take the executive action needed to combat this crisis? Or will he fold to a handful of fossil fuel executives and condemn my generation to a brutally warming world.”
“The President knows that this is an emergency, he said that this is an emergency, he just wants to study it more. We are well beyond the point of studying this,” said Keya Chatterjee, Executive Director of the Climate Action Network. “Our ask is very simple: President Biden, do what you said you would do.”
The push for Biden to declare a climate emergency and do more via executive action isn’t a new one. The president himself promised a “whole of government” approach to addressing the climate crisis before largely punting the ball to Congress. Since the 2020 election, coalitions like People vs. Fossil Fuels have been pushing Biden to use his executive authority, petitioning the White House, organizing sign-on letters, and mobilizing thousands of people for a week-long protest in Washington, D.C. last October.
At the event today, advocates promised to keep up pressure on President Biden over the coming weeks. Tomorrow, hundreds of people are expected to take part in civil disobedience at the Congressional Baseball Game, additional actions are expected in DC over the coming days, and on August 2, People vs. Fossil Fuels is coordinating a nationwide day of action to push Biden to declare a climate emergency and end fossil fuel project approvals.
