BROOKLYN, NY: August 11, 2020—The Climate Mobilization, a group pushing for a national mobilization to restore our planet to a safe climate, commends the historic choice of Senator Kamala Harris as the first woman of color to head a major party ticket as Joe Biden’s running mate. Harris was one of seven original cosponsors of the Senate version of S.Con.Res.22, which calls on Congress to declare a Climate Emergency and initiate a mobilization in response.
Of the announcement, Matt Renner, Executive Director of The Climate Mobilization said, “The selection of Senator Harris as the Vice-Presidential nominee elevates the possibility of a climate mobilization. As a sponsor of Senate resolution 22 – a national climate emergency declaration – her addition to this ticket is a good first step toward the future that the people are demanding, and serves as an opportunity to continue to push the Democratic Party toward emergency climate mobilization.”
Last July, Harris signed onto the Senate version of the concurrent resolution, which has over 100 cosponsors in the House of Representatives and 9 cosponsors in the Senate – and issued the following in a statement announcing the sign on:
“The United States is facing a climate crisis. We must speak that truth, and then we must take bold action to confront the existential crisis before us,” said Senator Harris. “In California and across the country, Americans are already seeing the impact of the climate crisis as unprecedented floods, wildfires, hurricanes, and extreme weather events devastate their communities. I’m proud to join my colleagues in this resolution that affirms that the policy of the United States Congress will be based on science fact, not science fiction.”
The Climate Mobilization is urging the Biden Administration to take definitive action to address the Climate Emergency within his first 100 days, including declaring the climate crisis a national emergency and working with Congress to develop comprehensive climate legislation to reach a zero emissions economy by 2030.
Last month Senator Harris and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced a revised version of the Climate Equity Act. The bill would require that environmental and climate legislation would receive an “equity score” to estimate the impact on frontline communities, put new requirements on federal grant making and investments to ensure that frontline communities benefit from public funding on environmental projects, and establish an independent Office of Climate and Environmental Justice Accountability to support frontline representation in federal rulemaking.