We have some good news and some bad news, John.
We’ll start with the good news. After thousands of you sent in petitions to the Democratic National Committee earlier this week, we won some important improvements to the 2020 party platform (which had previously only mentioned fossil fuels once).
Now for the bad news. Most of these changes only bring the platform to where it was in 2016 – and nowhere close to the mainstream of the party. The truth is that nothing in this platform is at all threatening to the fossil fuel industry and there is no plan to justly and equitably wind down fossil fuel extraction in line with science.
We have from now until the Democratic Convention in Milwaukee next month to put as much pressure as possible on the DNC to step up and do what's right for the climate. If enough climate voters speak out, we can demand that keeping fossil fuels in the ground be included.
We’re glad to see that the plan now includes a commitment to a 1.5°C warming target, banning fossil fuels on public lands, and ending fossil fuels subsidies. But none of these measures are a commitment to keep fossil fuels in the ground or build a just transition.
To be honest with you, John, the fossil fuel industry is thrilled about this platform and Joe Biden’s climate plan.1 Without a ban on fracking, they will continue to pollute communities and ruin the climate without consequence.
The president of Parsley Energy, a West Texas oil producer, said about the plan: “There is a lot of room in there for oil and gas.” That’s unacceptable.
It’s up to all of us to fight now – before the election while we have the most leverage – to demand more. This 2020 draft is not a step forward for the climate. It’s out of line with what Democrats want and it will cost the party the votes it needs to defeat Trump.
Without ambitious proposals from the Democratic Party, not only will we fall short in the climate action we need, there's also a risk that not enough people will show up to stop the rising wave of Trump’s anti-science, racist, and authoritarian agenda. The polls show that climate is one of the strongest ways to move voters away from Trump and increases motivation to vote.2
The stakes this November are too high: the Democratic Party needs to answer Trump's climate denial with a call for serious action for climate justice.
We need solutions to the climate crisis that advance justice for workers and communities confronted daily with systemic racism and toxic pollution – not watered-down policies that take us backwards and deny climate science.
Thank you for speaking out.
350 Action Team
1 - New York Times
2 - Global Strategy Group
|
|
|
This email was sent to [email protected]. Email is the most important way we keep in touch with people like you. If you need to remove yourself from our email list, unsubscribe here. Update your email address, location, or language.
This message has been authorized and paid for by 350 Action, 20 Jay St, Suite 732, Brooklyn, NY 11201, May Boeve, Executive Director. This message has not been expressly authorized, requested, or approved by any federal, state, or local candidate, candidate’s committee or their agents, or by any ballot issue committee.