Peoples Climate March unites thousands calling for climate progress from world leaders
Washington, D.C.— Ahead of next week’s United Nations Climate Summit convened by Secretary –General Ban Ki-moon, the largest climate mobilization in history is expected to take place on the streets of New York City, Sunday, September 21.
Friends of the Earth U.S. President Erich Pica issued the following statement:
Today, Friends of the Earth U.S. marches in the historic gathering of the People’s Climate March to demand planet saving actions from our political leaders, who are meeting at the United Nations Climate Summit. As we march, we demonstrate to the rest of the world that there is a robust and growing grassroots movement in the United States that believes President Obama and the United States are simply not doing enough to reduce our own global warming emissions domestically; nor enough to help poor countries adapt to the deadly impacts of climate change already wrought by emissions from the U.S. and other developed countries.
Addressing global warming will require nothing less than a fundamental reshaping of our economic and energy systems. Any boastful rhetoric coming from world leaders, including President Obama, inside the U.N. Climate Summit must be juxtaposed against the growing cacophony of scientific reviews indicating that we are not acting boldly enough. Voluntary pledges from governments and businesses will be insufficient to the deep mandatory reduction levels that are needed to zero out fossil fuel emissions by mid-century.
Friends of the Earth U.S. also marches to demonstrate solidarity with developing countries that are being impacted by the climate crisis. For these countries, aggressive cuts in global warming emissions are simply not enough. They also need financial resources to deal with the deadly fallout of an already changing climate. To the developed countries pleading that fiscal austerity is preventing them from providing robust financial support, we demand that they pass a financial transaction tax, otherwise known as a tax on Wall Street. This tax could generate hundreds of billions of dollars of revenue, while also helping to slow down Wall Street trading.
Finally, Friends of the Earth U.S. marches to remind ourselves, marchers in New York City and around the world, that the Peoples Climate March is just a step in creating a movement powerful enough to save the planet
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Friends of the Earth fights to create a more healthy and just world. Our current campaigns focus on promoting clean energy and solutions to climate change, keeping toxic and risky technologies out of the food we eat and products we use, and protecting marine ecosystems and the people who live and work near them.
Communications contact: Kate Colwell, (202) 222-0744, [email protected]