Message from the Chair
The world is still reeling from record global temperatures this summer, Antarctica is experiencing unprecedented low levels of winter ice, and Libya is but the latest casualty from climate related events with catastrophic flooding, killing over 11,000 souls. This comes adjacent to Africa Climate Week, where African leaders skirted over fossil fuels in a climate summit declaration. On a positive note, Ecuadorians rejected amazon drilling in an historic referendum this month, and Climate Week is now underway in New York, with leaders from across the globe converging for the United Nations Annual General Assembly and a Climate Ambition Summit. The heat is on to demand full scale climate action globally!
In the U.S., the GOP primary debates reveal the depth of climate change denialism amongst our adversaries, as the country sets a new record for billion-dollar climate disasters in single year. Already 23 major events have struck with still four months to go in 2023.
But Democrats are fighting back and making changes! In a landmark case, the Attorney General of California has just announced a lawsuit against fossil fuel companies for misleading the public about climate change. Biden also declared an end to drilling in large areas of Arctic Alaska, canceling the leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska originally issued under Trump.
This month the Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service is awarding more than $1 billion for tree plantings in US cities to reduce extreme heat and benefit health in areas where more than 84% of Americans live, especially benefiting disadvantaged communities.
New assessments by the EPA estimate that Biden’s climate law will cut carbon emissions up to 43 percent, but we must still bridge the remaining gap of declared goals with all the tools at our disposal. Despite the President’s extensive measures, efforts to halt global climate catastrophes are not adequate. Fires, floods, and heat waves around the world are a direct consequence of climate change. We urge President Biden to declare a National Climate Emergency NOW under the National Emergencies Act, unlocking key statutory powers such as the Defense Production Act and the International Economic Emergency Protection Act. If you have not already signed the petition, please join us. We will submit this with the DNC ECCC’s similar petition in early October.
Thank you for joining our petition and pressing your representatives to take decisive action on behalf of the environment and climate. Your voice matters. Your vote matters.
Dana Freling
Chair, DA Environment & Climate Crisis Council
Six states have elections scheduled for 2023: KENTUCKY, LOUISIANA, MISSISSIPPI, NEW JERSEY, OHIO, VIRGINIA, and UTAH. If you live in one of these states, please register now to request your absentee ballot from Votefromabroad.org! For more information about specific races check 2023 State Voting Information and 2023 Election Dates.
If you are a Florida voter, you can also sign on to the Right to Clean Water Ballot Initiative now. With enough signatures, it will go forward to the 2024 elections ballot. Download the petition to sign and mail, and view the full text of the Amendment here.
Please join us for our next Climate Cafe on Wednesday, September 20th at 10:00am ET/4:00pm CET. We will examine if and how the private sector can be a force for good in biodiversity conservation. The private sector is a significant driver of biodiversity loss, but businesses are becoming increasingly aware of opportunities associated with biodiversity conservation. Graham Prescott, a Cambridge University trained, inter-disciplinary conservation scientist, will be our special guest for this important discussion.
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RSVP Here! |
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Check out these news highlights from the last month!
Media articles:
🗾 Biden to Target Industrial Pollution in a 2nd Term, if He Gets One
🌊 Libya flooding: before and after satellite images reveal scale of disaster in Derna
🆘 ‘A silent killer’: How saltwater intrusion is overtaking coastal farmland in the US
📊 Charts: Which states will benefit most from the Inflation Reduction Act?
⚖️ States withhold cooling aid for the poor as heat gets deadlier
🏛 Environmentalists sue Utah for failing to protect the shrinking Great Salt Lake
🌐 Draft UN plastics treaty threatens Big Oil’s plan B
🎯 Biden bars oil drilling across a wide swath of Alaska’s Arctic
💚 Ecuadorians reject Amazon oil drilling in historic referendum
🛎 Under new state law, Texas will bill electric vehicle drivers an extra $200 a year
⛽️ I thought fossil fuel firms could change. I was wrong
Video Clips
💪 Climate Action Is on the Cusp of Exponential Growth
🆘 Is Our Planet at the Point of No Return?
🌽 How climate change is disrupting the global food supply
Volunteer with the ECCC – Contact us at eccc@democratsabroad if you’d like to get more involved. Join our working group, the Watchdogs Research Task Force or to help out with a variety of tasks including social media and communications.
Write your representative-
Guide to the IRA - This Guide Can Help You Save Money and Fight Climate Change
Guide to the IRA’s Investments in Indian Country; tax incentives and funding programs: Inflation Reduction Act Tribal Guidebook
Guide to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law - Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Guidebook
Energy Cost Resources to lower your energy costs, make your home safer and more comfortable, and help the planet: Energy Savings Hub | Department of Energy
Sign the Petition to Declare a Climate Emergency!
🌎 Watch our July Climate Café – The Rise of Cell-cultured Meat
🌎 Watch our May Climate Café – The U.S. and China and the Race to NET ZERO
🌍 Watch our ECCC Earth Day Video 2023
🌎 Watch our April Climate Café – The U.S. and E.U.: Race to Electric Vehicles
🌎 Watch our March Climate Café – African Women Entrepreneurs: Green Energy Innovators
🌍 Watch our February Climate Café - Preserving the Lungs of the Planet: Brazil's 2nd chance!
🌍 Watch our December Climate Café – Arts and Climate Activism, with special guest Michelle Deatrick
🌍 Watch our November Climate Café - COP27 Round up: Live from Sharm El Sheik with Sam Goodman
🌍 Watch our YOUTH v GOV Voices Webinar
🌍 Did you miss our Co₂nsequences: Global Climate Rally in April? You can watch it here. We had a lot of great speakers and performers.
🌍 Want to make your lifestyle greener? Boost your knowledge. Check out our Earth Care Toolkit.
Please consider donating to Democrats Abroad Environment & Climate Crisis Council to help with our ongoing efforts to get out the green vote and connect all of you with the policies and people fighting for a more sustainable planet.
Click on the link to become a one time or sustaining donor!
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