David Turnbull / Climate Truth.org – 2018-07-14 00:45:13
ACTION ALERT: Tell Gov. Jerry Brown:
It’s Time To Protect the Climate by
Committing to NO New Fossil Fuel Production
Climate Truth.org
(July 11, 2018) — The other day, I couldn’t take my one-year-old son outside because the smoke from not-too-distant fires was too thick for his young lungs to handle. It’s not the first time we’ve been stuck inside due to wildfire smoke in his short life. Summer in California now means smoke, fire, and heat waves.
It becomes clearer every day that a climate emergency is upon us, with communities around the world seeing the effects of climate change first hand.
All-time heat records have been broken all across the planet this month, and the impacts are growing more dangerous. Los Angeles hit a record 111 degrees on Friday. Montreal hit 97.9 degrees on July 2nd, as part of a heat wave that caused 70 deaths. This week, historic rains in Japan, no doubt worsened by climate change, have caused floods and landslides — and 179 people are dead.
An emergency of this scale requires a response commensurate with the problem we face. California, as a major oil producing state, is one of the places that can make a major difference in the climate fight.
California is well-equipped to boldly lead the charge of climate leadership and help set the course toward a just transition to a clean energy future — we just need California Governor Jerry Brown to show the courage to take on Big Oil.
Half measures and inadequate proposals are not enough — we need bold action now. Momentum is building for Governor Brown to take action before he leaves office at the end of the year. There are over 750 organizations around the world calling on Governor Brown to take on the oil industry in California — and we want you to join us. We need Governor Brown to:
* Ensure the state of California grants NO new permits for oil or gas drilling, fossil fuel infrastructure, or petrochemical projects, both onshore and offshore.
* Set a global precedent by announcing a phase-out of oil and gas production with a fair and equitable transition that protects workers, communities, and economies, starting in places that are suffering most from the impacts of dirty fuel extraction and infrastructure.
This fall is a historic organizing moment in California with the major Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS) taking place in San Francisco this September and then elections in November. With Governor Brown’s time in office coming to an end and his legacy on the line, there has never been a better opportunity for the Governor to show real climate leadership and embark upon a managed decline of oil and gas production in California.
True climate leadership will help protect the health and safety of 39 million Californians, and have ripple effects across the nation and the world. Bold moves now will ensure a more equitable and healthy future for all of us.
Add your voice to demand that Governor Brown take decisive action and commit California to a future with no new fossil fuels and towards real action on climate change. http://brownslastchance.org/
THE LETTER
Dear Governor Brown,
Oil and gas production in California, both on land and offshore in our waters, is a significant obstacle to doing what science says must be done to prevent the worst outcome from climate change. In September, as you welcome the world to San Francisco for the Global Climate Action Summit, I hope you will find the courage and imagination to set a higher standard for global climate leadership.
I sign my name below and call on you to:
1. Ensure the state of California grants no new permits for oil or gas drilling, fossil fuel infrastructure, or petrochemical projects, both onshore and offshore.
2. Set a global precedent by announcing a phase-out of oil and gas production with a fair and equitable transition that protects workers, communities, and economies, starting in places that are suffering most from the impacts of dirty fuel extraction and infrastructure.
As you’ve said, there are few places as well-equipped as California to boldly lead this change. True climate leadership will help protect the health and safety of 39 million Californians and ensure a more equitable and healthy future for the billions of people around the world who look to you to help set the course.
(See the full letter below).
It’s time for Governor Brown to step up! Click here to sign the petition.
David Turnbull
ClimateTruth.org
Oakland, California
Organizational Letter
(Signed by more than 800 global organizations)
Governor Edmund G. Brown
c/o State Capitol, Suite 1173
Sacramento, CA 95814, USA
Dear Governor Brown,
There is a significant gap between our current policies and what needs to be done to minimize the catastrophic impacts of climate change and meet the Paris Agreement goals you have championed. In September, as you welcome the world to San Francisco for the Global Climate Action Summit, you have an opportunity to set the new standard for global climate leadership.
We, the undersigned environmental, health, justice, faith, labor, community and consumer organizations from California and around the world, strongly urge you to champion a vision for California that looks beyond the oil and gas industry to a future that is safe and healthy for everyone. In order for us to support the summit, we call on you to:
1. Lead by announcing no new permits for oil and gas extraction, fossil fuel infrastructure, or petrochemical projects in California.
2. Set a global precedent by becoming the first oil producing state to announce a phase-out of existing production in line with the Paris climate goals, with a just and equitable transition that protects workers, communities, and economies, starting in places that are suffering most from the impacts of fossil fuel extraction.
You’ve stated numerous times that “time is running out” to solve the climate crisis. On this, we wholeheartedly agree. In the last year, we’ve watched our neighbors’ homes burn, waded through flooded streets and endured record-setting temperatures. In addition to climate impacts, oil and gas industry practices threaten public health, safety and our natural resources.
We know that areas with more oil and gas development have higher community rates of asthma, preterm birth, birth defects, and acute illness complaints from residents. In California, and around the world, these impacts fall disproportionately on low-income communities and communities of color, exacerbating this health and justice crisis.
And yet, California policy continues to ignore the extraction in our backyards, even after our state scientists made clear recommendations that would protect public health and our communities. This is unacceptable.
It is urgent that you set the state on a course to prevent further climate and community destruction. We must chart a path towards a just transition that protects workers and communities — both in these extractive industries and more broadly — and ensures living wage jobs that are safe for people and the planet.
As you’ve said for years on the global stage, there are few places on earth as well equipped as California to aggressively lead this change. Your leadership will not only help protect the health and safety of 39 million Californians, but also ensure a more equitable and healthy future for the billions of people around the world who look to you to pave the way. This, we hope, will be your legacy.
We look forward to your response,
MORE INFORMATION:
“Japanese PM to meet flood evacuees as death toll rises to 179,” The Guardian, 07-11-2018
“Estimated 70 Deaths Linked To Canada’s Heat Wave,” NPR, 07-10-2018
“Red-hot planet: All-time heat records have been set all over the world during the past week,” Washington Post, 07-05-2018
“Oil ‘is killing us.’ Activists call on Jerry Brown to halt California drilling,” Sacramento Bee, 04-11-2018
“Jerry Brown’s work to seal his climate legacy is only half done,” The Los Angeles Times, 04-11-2018
ClimateTruth.org fights the denial, distortion, and disinformation that block bold action on climate change. Help us end climate denial once and for all.
ClimateTruth.org is a program of Oil Change International, a 501(c)(3) organization.
Posted in accordance with Title 17, Section 107, for noncommercial, educational purposes.
