In a show of force today, individuals from diverse organizations representing youth, advocates, Indigenous peoples & frontlines communities, policy makers and more announced their platform – “The U.S. People’s Delegation” to counter the Trump Administration’s fossil fuel agenda and to hold US states, cities, businesses, and the public accountable to commitments to climate action.
Among the demands that speakers called for were:
- A just and equitable transition to 100% renewable energy in all cities and states.
- For U.S. elected officials to step up in meaningful ways to ensure bold climate action in the face of the current Administration’s rollback on climate protections, the persistence of ongoing climate disasters, and the impact of existing inequalities and governmental negligence on frontline and vulnerable communities.
- A halt to all new fossil fuel projects, with the understanding that the fossil fuel industry continues to perpetuate the climate crisis and sow climate denial, creating a bleak future for generations to come.
- A call for all nations to increase their ambition, not decrease it. The commitments countries put forward under the Paris Agreement were already too little, too late and would lead to at least 3.5 degrees of warming, not the 1.5° and 2° goals enshrined in the agreement. We can’t let the US be an excuse for other countries to dial back their action — especially since with cities and states doubling down, the US could be moving forward.
- A demand to stop negotiating cap-and-trade, carbon offsets, carbon pricing, and other market schemes that avoid cutting pollution at the source.
Read the full press release from the opening press conference of the U.S. People’s Delegation HERE and check out public events from the People’s Delegation this week:
U.S. People’s Delegation Speak Out
When: Thursday, November 9th, 4pm -6pm
Where: U.S Climate Action Pavilion, Fiji Room, The DHL Post Tower Charles-de-Gaulle-Straße 20, 53113 Bonn Germany
What: On Thursday, November 9th, community and grassroots leaders from the United States who make up the “U.S. People’s Delegation”, joined by activists from the Pacific Islands known as the Pacific Climate Warriors and Germany’s Ende Gelende activists, will participate in a speak out and share personal stories of how their communities are being impacted by unjust policies, governmental unaccountability, the fossil fuel industry, and ever-present climate disasters. Together, we will highlight the global resistance that is already underway and our urgency to stop the climate crisis. We invite the public to listen, learn, and connect with members of the U.S. People’s Delegation and our partners.
Speakers:
Varshini Prakash, SustainUS & Sunrise Movement (moderator)
Kiran Oommen, Our Children’s Trust youth plaintiff
Justin Marquez, Rhiannon Gallagher, Daisey Guadalupe Romero; ICLEI delegation
Michael Charles, Kyle Lemle, Troy Robertson; SustainUS delegation
Kandi Mossett, Indigenous Environmental Network delegation
Liana Lopez & Katia Vasquez, Organizacíon Boricuá de Agricultura Ecológica de Puerto Rico & Climate Justice Alliance
Milan̄ Loeak & Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner; Pacific Climate Warriors
Kathrin Henneberger & Dorothee Häußermann; Ende Gelande
U.S. People’s Delegation Town Hall with Elected Officials
When: Saturday, November 11th, 4-6pm
Where: Climate Action Pavilion, Fiji Room, The DHL Post Tower Charles-de-Gaulle-Straße 20, 53113 Bonn Germany
What: Despite the U.S. federal government’s move away from implementation of the goals in the Paris Agreement, U.S. cities, counties, and states have vowed that “We are Still In”. The U.S. People’s Delegation Town Hall will provide a venue for local elected officials — mayors, council members, and governors — to come together with citizen activists and voters to discuss the road to true climate action and to discuss a vision for what localized implementation should look like in the United States. This event will be in town hall format and citizen activists, policy makers, and delegate members of the U.S. People’s Delegation will ask questions of elected officials.
CONFIRMED ELECTED OFFICIALS:
Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR)
Council Member Pam O’Connor, Santa Monica, CA
Mayor William Peduto, Pittsburgh, PA
Brigid Shea, Commissioner Travis County, TX
Mayor Lionel Johnson, Jr., St Gabriel, LA
Dan Zarelli, Chief Resilience Officer, State of NY
Rep. Josh S. Cutler, Sixth Plymouth District of Massachusetts
###
The organizations represented in the People’s Delegation include: SustainUS, Sunrise Movement, Indigenous Environmental Network, Global Grassroots Justice Alliance, and the Climate Justice Alliance as part of It Takes Roots, U.S Human Rights Network, Climate Generation, Our Children’s Trust, NextGen America, and 350.org.