End Support for Fossil Fuels and Nukes
Green Party of the United States
The Green Party of the United States said today that the Climate Executive Orders issued this week by President Biden are a step forward, but far more action is needed.
While the party supported Biden’s move to stop new fossil fuel leases on federal lands and once again reject the permits for the XL Keystone Pipeline, Greens want the federal government to halt all new fossil fuel infrastructure, including a national ban on fracking natural gas.
Greens stated that in its first week, the Biden administration issued at least 31 new oil drilling permits authorizing operations on federal land and in coastal waters. Greens also opposed $6 billion in recent Congressional energy deals for carbon capture technologies that would allow the continued burning of fossil fuels.
The Green Party applauds the move to require 40% of climate funding to assist disadvantaged communities through challenging environmental racism. However, as one of the world’s wealthiest nations, the US must provide funds for developing countries to compensate for our country’s major role driving global warming worldwide.
“A decade ago, the Green Party initiated the call for an ecosocialist Green New Deal, which included a ten-year timeline to move to 100% renewables and zero emissions with an economic bill of rights including Medicare for All and a guaranteed living wage job along with housing and education. It is good that the Democrats finally grasp that investing in renewables is a job creation strategy, but we have to say no to fossil fuel companies with strong mandated reductions in greenhouse gas emissions” said Mark Dunlea, co-chair of the Green Party’s Eco-Action Committee.
The Eco-Action Committee has endorsed a variety of proposals for Biden to take as Executive Acts on climate, including those described at ClimatePresident.org. Howie Hawkins, the 2020 Green Party presidential candidate outlined what his first day, if elected, would look like.
“We were heartened to hear Senate Majority Leader Schumer supports the need for Biden to formally declare a climate emergency, which would expand the President’s powers to solve the problem. We also need to slash the huge amount of money we waste on the Pentagon, the world’s #1 polluter, and reinvest our tax dollars in the many domestic needs we have. The Green New Deal should be the basis of any COVID relief package,” said Darryl! Moch, co-chair of the Green National Black Caucus and chair of the D.C Statehood Green Party.
The Green Party is committed to environmental justice and a Just Transition. Dr. Jill Stein was issued an arrest warrant during her 2016 Presidential campaign for protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline. Greens demand an end to all new pipelines such as Line 3 and Mountain Valley. Greens also oppose the continued use of nuclear power due to environmental and health damage.
“We need to transform the Federal Renewable Energy Commission (FERC) from a rubber stamp for the fossil fuel industry to a proponent of renewable energy. The Treasury Department and Security and Exchange Commission should issue regulations to block the financial industry from investing in fossil fuels.
“We need to move to public ownership and democratic control of our energy system, as the domination of the capitalist marketplace has led us to climate disaster. It is time to take a range of actions, including a robust carbon fee and dividend program to hold polluters accountable for the damage they have caused,” said Gloria Mattera, Green Party National Co-Chair.
Green Party of the United States · PO Box 75075, Washington, DC 20013, United States. www.gp.org, 202-804-2758
The Green Party’s Seven Key Values
1. Grassroots Democracy
All human beings must be allowed a say in decisions that affect their lives; no one should be subject to the will of another. We work to improve public participation in every aspect of government and seek to ensure that our public representatives are fully accountable to the people who elect them. We also work to create new types of political organizations that expand the process of participatory democracy by directly including citizens in decision-making.
2. Social Justice And Equal Opportunity
As a matter of right, all persons must have the opportunity to benefit equally from the resources afforded us by society and the environment. We must consciously confront in ourselves, our organizations, and society at large, any discrimination by race, class, gender, sexual orientation, age, nationality, religion, or physical or mental ability that denies fair treatment and equal justice under the law.
3. Ecological Wisdom
Human societies must function with the understanding that we are part of nature, not separate from nature. We must maintain an ecological balance and live within the ecological and resource limits of our communities and our planet. We support a sustainable society that utilizes resources in such a way that future generations will benefit and not suffer from the practices of our generation. To this end we must practice agriculture that replenishes the soil, move to an energy-efficient economy, and live in ways that respect the integrity of natural systems.
4. Non-Violence
It is essential that we develop effective alternatives to society’s current patterns of violence. We will work to demilitarize and eliminate weapons of mass destruction, without being naive about the intentions of other governments. We recognize the need for self-defense and the defense of others who are in danger. We promote non-violent methods to oppose practices and policies with which we disagree, and will guide our actions toward lasting personal, community and global peace.
5. Decentralization
Centralization of wealth and power contributes to social and economic injustice, environmental destruction, and militarization. We seek a restructuring of social, political and economic institutions away from a system controlled by and mostly benefiting the powerful few, to a democratic, less bureaucratic system. Decision-making should, as much as possible, remain at the individual and local level, while assuring that civil rights are protected for all.
6. Community-Based Economics
We support redesigning our work structures to encourage employee ownership and workplace democracy. We support developing new economic activities and institutions that allow us to use technology in ways that are humane, freeing, ecological, and responsive and accountable to communities. We support establishing a form of basic economic security open to all. We call for moving beyond the narrow ‘job ethic’ to new definitions of ‘work,’ ‘jobs’ and ‘income’ in a cooperative and democratic economy. We support restructuring our patterns of income distribution to reflect the wealth created by those outside the formal monetary economy – those who take responsibility for parenting, housekeeping, home gardens, community volunteer work, and the like. We support restricting the size and concentrated power of corporations without discouraging superior efficiency or technological innovation.
7. Feminism And Gender Equity
We have inherited a social system based on male domination of politics and economics. We call for the replacement of the cultural ethics of domination and control with cooperative ways of interacting that respect differences of opinion and gender. Human values such as gender equity, interpersonal responsibility, and honesty must be developed with moral conscience. We recognize that the processes for determining our decisions and actions are just as important as achieving the outcomes we want.
8. Respect For Diversity
We believe it is important to value cultural, ethnic, racial, sexual, religious and spiritual diversity, and to promote the development of respectful relationships across the human spectrum. We believe that the many diverse elements of society should be reflected in our organizations and decision-making bodies, and we support the leadership of people who have been traditionally closed out of leadership roles. We encourage respect for all life forms, and increased attention to the preservation of biodiversity.
9. Personal And Global Responsibility
We encourage individuals to act to improve their personal wellbeing and, at the same time, to enhance ecological balance and social harmony. We seek to join with people and organizations around the world to foster peace, economic justice, and the health of the planet. 10. Future Focus And Sustainability
Our actions and policies should be motivated by long-term goals. We seek to protect valuable natural resources, safely disposing of or ‘unmaking’ all waste we create, while developing a sustainable economics that does not depend on continual expansion for survival. We must counterbalance the drive for short-term profits by assuring that economic development, new technologies, and fiscal policies are responsible to future generations who will inherit the results of our actions. We must make the quality of all lives, rather than open-ended economic growth, the focus of future thinking and policy.
