Contact: Malik Russell / malik@climatemobilization.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Climate Mobilization Joined Representatives Blumenauer, Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders in Unveiling Climate Resolution
WASHINGTON, D.C (July 9, 2019) — Today, amid a week of massive flooding in the nation’s capital, The Climate Mobilization (TCM) joined the offices of Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in announcing the introduction of a nonbinding resolution seeking to declare the climate crisis an official national emergency in the United States. Once officially introduced, TCM will mobilize a national climate emergency coalition to get the declaration passed through the House and to recruit all of the 2020 presidential candidates to publicly declare a climate emergency.
Margaret Klein Salamon, Founder & Executive Director, TCM, stated: “I founded The Climate Mobilization to tell the truth about the climate emergency and to initiate the WWII-scale mobilization that we need to protect humanity and the natural world. The fossil fuel industry has spent more than a billion dollars lying to the American people. Now is time for the people, through our elected representatives to set the record straight. The truth is: We are in danger. You, me, my family, your family. All of us. Global warming is accelerating will cause the collapse of civilization this century if we fail to transform our society to zero emissions and initiate drawdown, in years, not decades.”
TCM, which played an advisory role on the resolution, has been at the forefront of a movement that advocates for a World War II scale mobilization to reverse global warming and the restoration of a safe climate. Thousands of Americans signed a TCM-led petition in the lead up to today’s announcement demanding Congress declare a national climate emergency.
Representative Blumenauer stated: “The national emergency is not at the border, it’s the climate. It’s time for Congress to formally acknowledge the scale and depth of climate change. We are already seeing disastrous impacts. It’s time for Congress to take a stand.”
Representative Ocasio-Cortez stated: “This is a political crisis of inaction, and it’s going to take political will and courage to treat this with the urgency that the next generation needs in order to preserve our way of life. We have less than 12 years to enact a global solution. This is a first step, and declaring a climate emergency is a good idea, this is what we need to do to start pursuing the plan we need.”
Senator Bernie Sanders stated: “There are many, many challenges facing this country, but at the top of the list must be the existential threat to our planet in terms of the damage that climate change is doing. The scientific community is telling us, in no uncertain terms, that we have fewer than 12 years to transition if we are going to leave this planet in any way that is healthy and habitable.”
Ellen van Bever, Board Member of Mothers Out Front, stated: “Our mothers are changing the narrative around fossil fuels and are fighting to ensure that the transition to clean, renewable energy is swift and rooted in economic and environmental justice. We know that the most adverse effects of the fossil fuel industry and climate crisis impact those in low income communities and communities of color. Our mothers and children in these communities are at the center of our work.”
Adam McKay, Academy Award-winning filmmaker, writer and producer, stated: “I directed The Big Short, a movie about the small group of people who saw the 2008 financial crisis coming. The truth is that the impacts of the climate emergency could dwarf the financial crisis – leading to the collapse of human civilization, not just a temporary recession. That’s why I support The Climate Mobilization, which has been forecasting the risk of climate collapse for 5-years and demanding an emergency response to prevent it. Although the climate breakdown is here, civilization has not collapsed yet. It is deeply encouraging to see some of our leading politicians taking heed of The Climate Mobilization’s call for a WWII-scale mobilization to rapidly reverse global warming and the 6th mass extinction of species before it’s too late.”
Varshini Prakash, Founder and Executive Director of Sunrise Movement, stated: “We have watched as babies in the Bronx have choked on poisonous fumes. We have watched as hurricanes such as Katrina and Maria ravaged our communities. We are done waiting—this is a full blown emergency. This declaration is an echo of the calls of young people across the country. It is not enough to call the climate crisis a threat—we need to act on it as such.”
Since 2014, TCM has spread its Climate Emergency Campaign across cities around the world. Thanks to its work with environmental and climate justice organizations, Hoboken, New Jersey became the first US city to declare a Climate Emergency in 2017. Since then, more than 15 other US cities — including NYC — have declared a climate emergency. The campaign has been adopted by aligned groups and spread across Europe and Canada, leading to more than 700 local governments declaring a climate emergency, as well as the governments of the UK, Ireland, Canada, and France.
The introduction of the resolution comes on the heels of demands by presidential candidates, activists and voters for the DNC to host a climate debate. The resolution hopes to put the climate crisis in the forefront of the 2020 primaries, giving candidates the opportunity to lay out specific policy solutions to the challenges ahead.
You may listen to a press call featuring the aforementioned leaders discussing the resolution here.
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