Dear Friend,
Tomorrow is Earth Day – the 52nd year I have celebrated it.
I was in grade 10 in 1970 when Earth Day was launched. And here we are 52 years later and our situation is at its most perilous.
Three years:
Of course, some of you may recall that Earth Day is also John’s and my wedding anniversary. April 22, 2022 will be our third anniversary. Three years have gone by in a flash. Of course, those were not easy years: 2020 and COVID pandemic; 2021 and another election with the worst results ever for our party. John and I often reflect that we have stress-tested our marriage – COVID, isolation, two elections, two surgeries and several moves. The last three years were tough, but they blew by.
It makes the perspective on the challenge of the next three years increasingly daunting. According to the most recent IPCC report, in three years – by 2025 – greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels must peak and start to decline quite rapidly. In fact, globally, they must be cut in half at the very least by 2030. That’s right – within the next three years GHG emissions must have reached their all-time high, be arrested and begin to decline rapidly.
As Greens we have another reason to move rapidly over the next three years. The next federal election will be in 2025. In agreeing to their supply-and-confidence deal, the Liberals and the NDP have made a conscious choice to abandon the climate battles of today. And the Conservatives have always been on the wrong side. The field is wide open for Greens to replace the parties that do not understand the climate emergency.
We have three years to mobilize to ensure we secure at least 12 seats. That is the magic number to gain recognized party status for the federal Greens… status already enjoyed by the Greens in Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and British Columbia.
Three years to twelve MPs. That matters not only for the Green Party – it matters for planetary survival.
Please accept this Earth Day challenge. Make the next three years count by building our capacity as Green MPs. We need to rehire staff. We need to hire a press secretary. Our wonderful press secretary was hired away from us just before the election. The party has not had resources to hire her replacement.
In Parliament, Mike Morrice (fabulous Green MP for Kitchener Centre) and I are knocking ourselves out to get an honest assessment of climate action; to hold the governing parties to account. But the supports our Green MPs used to have from the Green Party are gone.
Your donations will make a significant difference – now and for the next three years.
This Earth Day we must step up to face the reality and the enormity of the challenge. I want to ask you to make a generous donation to the Green Party of Canada.
We need your help. We need your financial support to make every minute over the next three years really count!
April 22, 2022 is a powerful moment. Please make your donation in any configuration of this date – 4/22 = $422 or a one time donation of $22 – or even better, a monthly commitment of $22/month.
Mark this Earth Day with a donation to our shared future.
Thank you! And Happy Earth Day!
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Elizabeth May O.C. MP |
