For the first time on record, average global temperatures have surpassed the critical threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius – the threshold needed to preserve coral reefs and Arctic sea ice, and to experience less deadly heat waves.1 Though not an indefinite breach of the limit agreed on at the 2015 Paris Agreement, the trend serves as a dire warning that climate conditions are going from bad to worse.
Communities have been struck with record-breaking extreme weather events like storms, droughts, wildfires, and temperatures soaring to unprecedented levels, yet the local and state governments in those affected areas struggle to provide sufficient support. Now more than ever, we need clear, bold, unified action from the White House to step in and provide substantial climate solutions.
Executive action can advance solutions despite the most difficult stalemates in Congress. Here's exactly what declaring a climate emergency will do: By declaring climate change as a "federal emergency", President Biden can use more tools to quickly cut carbon and bring down energy prices. This is why President Biden must take bold action NOW.
The past four years of Biden's presidency have shown that fossil fuel corporations and their lobbyists can and will hold back vital legislation to fight the climate crisis. President Biden has the power to make a lot of progress in this fight with just one stroke of a pen — and that's why we need your help to apply pressure on Biden to become the climate president he needs to be this Earth Day.
Biden can easily declare a climate emergency under the National Emergencies Act (NEA) as an important step toward responding to the climate crisis with the urgency it demands. Doing so would allow him to do the following:
- End the era of fossil fuels: Phase out all existing fossil fuels and prevent new fossil fuel projects by halting crude oil exports, oil and gas drilling, and government subsidies for dirty energy.
- Build renewables at scale: Enact the President's executive authority through the Defense Production Act (DPA) to expedite a just transition to clean energy that reduces utility costs, creates new union jobs, and builds a resilient and reliable energy system.
- Protect people and planet: Prioritize the climate crisis as the emergency it is to protect frontline communities and the environment from the corporate influences that keep us reliant on dirty, costly energy generated from fossil fuels.
The climate crisis is already here and getting worse right before our eyes. We're urging President Biden to take action now before it's too late. If you're ready to fight with us, add your name to our petition for President Biden to declare a climate emergency! He needs to do right by our communities.
Together,
Green New Deal Network
1. Earth breached a feared level of warming over the past year. Are we doomed? | Washington Post, February 8, 2024
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