Climate Emergency Movement
The global tally for Climate Emergency declarations is up to 1,755, within 30 countries. In California, the Sacramento Municipal Utilities District (SMUD) Board of Directors adopted a Climate Emergency resolution and committed to achieving net zero emissions electricity by 2030, becoming the first utility company to commit to a timeline that is in line with what is necessary to address the emergency. SMUD has a legacy of leadership in the energy sector and with this declaration, demonstrates that they are committed to serving the 1.5 million people in their service territory, which includes the California State Capitol. Special shout out to our California ally Chris Brown who has been an invaluable champion for Climate Emergency Declarations in California and around the U.S.
Menlo Park, CA has adopted a plan to become carbon-neutral by 2030, building on their Climate Emergency Declaration from 2019, and instituting one of the most ambitious plans in the United States. Their resolution makes explicit connection between the Climate Emergency and the demands of the Movement for Black Lives that investments be made to support communities that have historically borne the brunt of environmental injustice and racism:
The City’s current Climate Action Plan (CAP) includes a 27 percent greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goal by 2020. In 2019, the City Council declared a climate emergency (Resolution 6525) and committed to addressing climate change by adopting a new CAP that provides significant actions to reach carbon neutrality (Resolution No. 6493.) Recently, the City Council also proclaimed in a Black Lives Matter resolution (Resolution No. 6563) an action to prioritize climate action and empower the City’s environmental leadership, recognizing that the City’s most vulnerable residents are the most affected by this global issue.
These two policy actions demonstrate the ongoing impact of the decentralized Climate Emergency Campaign and the continued leadership from the people of California.
Biden Climate Plan
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has published his new climate platform which focuses on environmental justice, clean energy, jobs, and sustainable infrastructure. While we commend Biden’s prioritization of climate and environmental justice, his 2050 deadline for eliminating greenhouse gas emissions is disastrously insufficient.
We cannot afford another leisurely and insufficient federal response to an emergency that prioritizes business-as-usual over human life, as we have tragically seen with the failed response to COVID-19. Biden must commit to a 2030 zero-emissions timeline and a full-scale emergency mobilization to restore a safe climate in order to prevent runaway global heating and to build a better future.
Online Events
Next Monday, July 27 at 5pm Pacific, 8pm Eastern, please join TCM’s Strategy Director Cris Lagunas, along with folks from the Institute for Policy Studies, Mexican Network of Mining-Affected People, and others for No Warming No War: Connecting Militarism with the Climate Crisis. Click here to register.
Join System Change Not Climate Change, the Ecosocialist Network, Labor Network For Sustainability and 10 others for Strike! Using our Power to Stop Climate Disaster and Create a Just World with Jeremy Brecher — this Sunday, July 26 at 10am Pacific, 1pm Eastern. Click here to register.