To address the looming global catastrophe of climate change, the United Nations is calling on global leaders to justly phase out fossil fuels. However, despite President Biden’s verbal commitment to climate goals, his administration has and continues to approve massive fossil fuel projects.
Rather than equitably phasing out fossil fuels, the leading driver of the climate crisis, the U.S. is actively expanding them. The Biden administration has approved a slew of new fossil fuel ventures, including drilling on public lands, the construction of Minnesota's Line 3 tar sands pipeline, the Willow Project in Alaska, thousands of miles of pipelines to boost liquified natural gas exports, and construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
This will only exacerbate our climate crisis. Now, more than ever, we need to use every tool in our arsenal to fight for a livable, equitable future.
One of those tools is the Biden administration declaring climate an emergency under the National Emergencies Act. That would give us the ability to reinstate the crude oil export ban, justly end new fossil fuel projects and drilling, redirect disaster relief funds toward distributed renewable energy construction in frontline communities, and marshal companies to fast-track renewable transportation and clean power generation. All while creating millions of high-quality union jobs.
Biden also has the power to deny approvals for any new fossil fuel projects, and mandate a phase out of fossil fuel production on federal lands and waters—two critical steps that scientists affirmed are vital to staying under the global warming limit necessary to avert the most devastating climate catastrophes.
Climate change is already an emergency–we need an emergency declaration and an immediate end to fossil fuel project approvals. There’s still more Biden can do. It’s time for the Biden administration to step up and act before it’s too late.
Join us and demand President Biden put an equitable end to the era of fossil fuels and invest in a clean and sustainable future for all.
