Biden has been on a tear of environmental and conservation announcements this month – protecting historic amounts of land in the arctic, updating oil and gas leasing rules on more than 10% of all lands in the US, and investing $20 billion in clean energy. But even all that is not enough to achieve Biden's climate commitments. So the youth-led Sunrise Movement is calling on President Biden to use his executive powers to declare a climate emergency, allowing the government to scale back fossil fuel projects and rapidly expand the buildup of clean energy alternatives nationwide.
It's also a political issue: Only 21 percent of voters 18-29 approve of the administration’s efforts to tackle the climate crisis. According to the Sunrise Movement, more aggressive efforts need to be made to ensure climate-conscious young voters continue to vote for President Biden.
Last year, when asked about the possibility of formally declaring a climate emergency, Biden told reporters that he had "practically" already done so.
But as Politico pointed out, "he has yet to actually make a declaration, which would give him a host of new powers to combat climate change as the country faces record-breaking heat and more frequent and intense floods, droughts and wildfires."
President Biden must do everything in his power to slow climate change, starting by formally declaring that the federal government considers it an emergency. Add your name to the petition today if you agree.
Thanks for taking action,
Drew and the 198 emergencies crew