John,

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres opened this week’s international climate talks by stating our planet is “sending us a distress signal.” At the same time, it looks like climate-change denying Republicans have taken control of the U.S. House of Representatives.  

It’s time for President Biden to immediately exercise every power at his disposal to end the era of fossil fuels and stave off climate disaster.

As the planet heats, people and wildlife suffer — from polar bears to pikas. In the race against the climate emergency, nothing matters more than rapid action by the United States to rein in fossil fuels. And nothing stands in the way of Biden taking three actions now to make a critical difference. 

First, he can stop federal fossil fuel extraction by ending approvals of all new fossil fuel projects and phasing out existing production on public lands and waters. Second, he can declare a climate emergency to accelerate our shift away from fossil fuels and further boost renewables. Third, he can use executive authority to require agencies to set science-based standards for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.  

The next two years are critical to protecting life on Earth. Tell Biden it’s up to him to end the fossil fuel era now.