Paris Agreement

Newsletter: Climate Breakdown

September 3, 2017 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, www.PopularResistance.org Newsletter Barack Obama, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Donald Trump, Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Sandy, Paris Agreement

By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers for Popular Resistance. Climate breakdown is happening before our eyes at the same time the science on climate change grows stronger and has wider acceptance. Hurricane Harvey, which struck at the center of the petroleum industry – the heart of climate denialism – provided a glimpse of the new normal of climate crisis-induced events. In Asia, this week the climate message was even stronger where at least 1,200 people died and 41 million were impacted. By 2050, one billion people could be displaced by climate crises. Climate disasters demonstrate the immense failure of government at all levels.

Over 1,400 U.S. Cities, States And Businesses Vow To Meet Climate Commitments

June 7, 2017 Georgina Gustin, www.insideclimatenews.org Create! Climate Change, Paris Agreement

By Georgina Gustin for Inside Climate News - President Donald Trump may be yanking the United States from the Paris climate agreement, but states, cities and businesses are filling the vacuum by making their own commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions—and the numbers are mounting. On Monday, more than 1,000 companies and institutions, including more than a dozen Fortune 500 businesses, signed onto a statement—"We Are Still In"—saying they're committed to meeting the Paris targets. The statement calls Trump's decision "a grave mistake that endangers the American public and hurts America's economic security and diplomatic reputation." By Tuesday, the coalition's numbers had climbed past 1,400. A dozen states that together represent the world's third-largest economy and more than 200 cities had also committed to the Paris accord through various coalitions. In the wake of Trump's decision to leave the Paris climate agreement, the world's biggest economies denounced the move and insisted they would remain in the pact. While the president claimed he would contemplate a renegotiation of a deal that "puts America first," the UN and several U.S. allies said renegotation isn't in the cards. Many Americans are not wavering, either.

After Paris Pullout, Spread An Ethic Of Love And Cooperation

June 6, 2017 Tim DeChristopher, www.truth-out.org Strategize! Climate Change, Paris Agreement

By Tim DeChristopher for Truthout - As we are barraged with constant bad news about climate science and climate politics at the national and global level, the US climate movement has really important opportunities to hold our ground and build momentum through local and state level actions. When Donald Trump announced last week that he was pulling the US out of the Paris climate agreements, 211 city mayors and 10 state governors immediately responded by committing to upholding their end of the bargain. The speed of that response is a testament to the critical value of the local climate organizing that has already been done across the country. This opening for political leadership adds to the many ways that the struggle against global climate change is fought on local turf. The fight against fossil fuel infrastructure and extraction has always been centered on local organizing. The fight against fossil fuel infrastructure and extraction has always been centered on local organizing. Countless communities have fought off power plants, pipelines, fracking, drilling, mining, export facilities and compressor stations.

GGJ Statement On Trump’s Withdrawal From Paris Agreement

June 5, 2017 Staff, www.ggjalliance.org Strategize! Climate Change, Donald Trump, Paris Agreement

By Staff of Grassroots Global Justice Alliance - While the accord was far from what the planet needs, Trump's reckless decision underscores a key overarching issue with the Paris Agreement in the first place. When the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015, we put out this report entitled "We Are Mother Earth’s Red Line: Frontline Communities Lead the Climate Justice Fight Beyond the Paris Agreement." We laid out 5 key concerns in the report. Our number one concern (see page 6) with the agreement was “The Agreement relies on voluntary versus mandatory emission cuts that do not meet targets scientists say are necessary to avoid climate catastrophe.” Trump’s withdrawal is a clear example that voluntary pledges are not enough. “Donald Trump is showing us the art of breaking a deal,” says Tom BK Goldtooth, Executive Director of Indigenous Environmental Network. “By abandoning the Paris Agreement, this administration will further perpetuate environmental racism and climate injustice against Indigenous peoples experiencing the worst effects of climate change across the globe. We’ve stated before that the Paris Agreement falls short of embracing the sort of climate solutions that lift up human rights and the rights of Indigenous peoples.

Paris Is Burning

June 5, 2017 James P. Hare, www.rosalux-nyc.org Educate! Climate Change, Paris, Paris Agreement, Trump Administration

By James P. Hare for Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung - With Trump’s decision to formally withdraw from the Paris Agreement, he has put an end to months of apparent indecision. This withdrawal does not dissolve the agreement, which still includes nearly every nation on the planet, but it is hard to imagine how an already weak agreement can be expected to slow—not to mention reverse—greenhouse gas emissions without the participation of the United States. Seeing this decision as anything other than a nail in the coffin of the global climate regime is nothing but wishful thinking. For an administration that has promoted a seemingly unending series of bad policies—from healthcare to immigration to militarism to the unceasing transfer of wealth from working people to the wealthy—this may be its worst. When future generations look back at the harm done by this president, they may remember this as his greatest crime. This is not to minimize the damage of his other policies or of the racism, xenophobia, and misogyny that drove his campaign and brought him into the White House, but climate change is the ultimate issue. It will affect everyone while exacerbating existing inequalities, and we only have one chance to get it right.

World Leaders To Trump: You’re On Your Own

June 4, 2017 Lauren McCauley, www.ecowatch.com Educate! climate crisis, Paris Agreement, Trump

By Lauren McCauley of CommonDreams. Following Trump's Thursday announcement, world leaders from China to Germany to the Marshall Islands and beyond promised to uphold the climate accord while citizens and civil society from across the globe vowed to "harness public outrage into meaningful on-the-ground action" to combat the crisis of climate change. German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters on Friday that European leaders "will band together to take more decisive action than ever to confront and successfully surmount major challenges to humanity such as climate change." Merkel called Trump's withdrawal "highly regrettable, to put it very mildly," but added: "This decision cannot and will not stop those of us who feel obligated to protect our earth."

White House Protest Rebukes Trump For Paris Climate Agreement Exit

June 2, 2017 John Zangas, www.dcmediagroup.us Resist! Climate Change, COP21, Donald Trump, Paris Agreement

By John Zangas for DC Media Group. Dozens of speakers, including leaders of think tanks, former government officials, and representatives from environmental groups converged on the White House Thursday afternoon to criticize President Donald Trump for his decision to back out of the Paris Climate Agreement. Trump’s decision to rescind the US endorsement of the Accord was seen as a set back to collective efforts to curb climate change. The Paris Climate Accord was signed in December, 2015 by 195 countries, and was heralded as a first step towards reducing climate change inducing gases. The US now joins a short list of two countries that did not endorse the accord, namely Syria and Nicaragua. The accord provides for five year incremental reviews and adjustments to keep up with sciencetific developmets as more is learned from the evolving climate situation. It also provides a means of gradually weening civilization off carbon based fuels. One by one speakers railed against Trump’s decision, calling it a “head in the sand” and “climate change denier’s” response on behalf of fossil fuel industry interests.

In Praise Of Trump Pulling Out of the Paris Climate Pact

June 2, 2017 Ken Ward, thehill.com Educate! Climate Change, Donald Trump, Paris Agreement

By Ken Ward for The Hill. It’s also true that withdrawal from Paris deprives mainstream environmental organizations and the foundations and funders that guide them of a key deliverable, and that could risk eroding support for them. Perhaps that’s not such a bad thing. Many of them have pursued an utterly bankrupt strategy of understating the climate problem, negotiating with the fossil fuel industry, and cherry-picking small victories to showcase organizational accomplishments at the expense of a functional movement strategy. Pulling out of Paris takes false hopes off the table, and opens the way for building an effective climate movement. So as committed climate activist who knows we’re running out of time, I say, let’s get on with it. It’s also true that withdrawal from Paris deprives mainstream environmental organizations and the foundations and funders that guide them of a key deliverable, and that could risk eroding support for them. Perhaps that’s not such a bad thing. Many of them have pursued an utterly bankrupt strategy of understating the climate problem, negotiating with the fossil fuel industry, and cherry-picking small victories to showcase organizational accomplishments at the expense of a functional movement strategy. Pulling out of Paris takes false hopes off the table, and opens the way for building an effective climate movement. So as committed climate activist who knows we’re running out of time, I say, let’s get on with it.

Paris Accord Doesn’t Go Far Enough; Pullout Endangers Life

June 2, 2017 Dahr Jamail, www.truth-out.org Educate! Climate Change, Paris Agreement, Trump Administration

By Dahr Jamail for Truthout - A large number of climate experts believe the Paris Climate Accord does not go nearly far enough in addressing the crisis of abrupt anthropogenic climate disruption (ACD). Nevertheless, in what is clearly both a symbolic move and a nod to his fossil fuel backers, Donald Trump will be pulling the US out of the agreement, according to several reports today. The US, along with nearly 200 other countries, agreed to voluntarily reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in 2015. Interestingly, given the ongoing Russia scandal that is plaguing the White House on a daily basis now, withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement will make the US and Russia the only industrialized countries that reject taking action to mitigate ACD. Trump has claimed that ACD is a "hoax," despite the fact that 97 percent of the global scientific community agrees that humans are the cause of our warming planet. The majority of the remaining 3 percent of the scientific community has been shown to be taking funding from the fossil fuel industry.

World Reacts To Trump’s Intent To Withdraw From Climate Treaty

June 1, 2017 Kevin Zeese, www.PopularResistance.org Resist! Climate Change, Climate Justice, COP21, Donald Trump, Paris Agreement

By Kevin Zeese for Popular Resistance. Washington, DC - President Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement today, June 1. This prompted a strong response from people across the United States and around the world. Trump's views on the climate crisis are in the minority. US News & World Report wrote that there is broad public support for the Paris Agreement – even among Trump voters. By more than 5 to 1, voters say the U.S. should participate in the Paris climate agreement. A nationally representative survey conducted last November after the election found that seven in 10 registered voters say the U.S. should participate in the Paris climate agreement. Only 13 percent say the U.S. should not. Trump is in a tiny minority and does not represent the people of the United States.

«1 2 »

Daily movement news and resources