Climate activists pressure President Biden to declare a climate emergency

Climate activists pressure President Biden to declare a climate emergency

Climate negotiations have collapsed in the Senate, and the Supreme Court has gutted the EPA’s authority to reduce greenhouse emissions. But there is still a critical action Biden can take: He can declare a Climate Emergency under the National Emergencies Act.

SOMERSET, MA — As President Biden visited the former Brayton Point coal plant to tout its repurposing for renewable energy, members of Extinction Rebellion Boston had a message for him: Declare a national climate emergency.

Holding a large banner reading “DECLARE CLIMATE AND ECOLOGICAL EMERGENCY” and a paper mache globe, activists confronted Biden on his way to his speech to demand he invoke emergency powers to mitigate rapid climate breakdown.

“I was part of protests to get this coal plant closed,” said climate activist Linden Jenkins. “Now Biden is here to talk about it being converted to renewable energy infrastructure, which is good, but it’s just too slow. Biden needs to declare a Climate Emergency and use his executive power to fast-track manufacturing to a just transition. The climate crisis is a global emergency, and we can’t wait to act (1)."

An emergency declaration would grant the president emergency powers to stop fossil fuel extraction and speed the development of renewable energy (2). He is reportedly considering such a move but has decided against it for now (3).

Biden’s visit to Somerset comes as the signs of the climate crisis are intensifying. This week, Texas and Oklahoma City hit record temperatures of 110 degrees Fahrenheit, and London hit a record temperature of 104 Fahrenheit (4). The UN Secretary General, Antonio Gueterres, told governments that humanity and faces “collective suicide” as countries battle extreme heat, flooding, and droughts (5).

"Half of humanity is in the danger zone, from floods, droughts, extreme storms and wildfires. No nation is immune. Yet we continue to feed our fossil fuel addiction,” said Gueterres.

Meanwhile, US government action on the climate crisis has stalled. Climate negotiations have collapsed in the Senate, and the Supreme Court has gutted the EPA’s authority to reduce greenhouse emissions. A climate declaration, however, is an action that Biden can take unilaterally under the National Emergencies Act, the Defense Production Act, and other statutes.

A report by the Center for Biological Diversity (1) recently outlined the legal basis for an emergency declaration, and the steps that could be taken to stop fossil fuel extraction and rapidly increase renewable energy production.

"There isn’t time to wait,” said activist Allen McGonagil. “I used to think climate collapse was something I'd deal with in old age but it's here now. We demand that Biden immediately declare a National Climate Emergency to actually ensure a rapid transition to renewable energy instead of just taking credit for coal plants already shutting down.”

1. U.N. climate change report warns of ‘dangerous and widespread disruption’ - The Washington Post
2. Center for Biological Diversity, “The Climate President’s Emergency Powers”, Feb 28, 2022
3. Trying to Salvage His Climate Agenda, Biden Weighs Remaining Options - The New York Times
4. UK prepares for historic hot spell - Met Office
5. Humanity faces ‘collective suicide’ over climate crisis, warns UN chief | Climate crisis | The Guardian