In response to President Biden’s Earth Day announcement, Allie Rosenbluth, United States Program Manager at Oil Change International, released the following statement:
“It is critical that President Biden continues to highlight the climate crisis in his speeches, but we cannot ignore that the United States is the world’s largest producer, expander, and exporter of oil and gas. Resourcing renewable energy in a way that creates good-paying union jobs is important, but the United States and the world will fall short of our climate goals without real steps to phase out fossil fuels. The International Energy Agency has made it clear that no new investments in coal, oil, or gas align with a livable future.
“Youth, frontline communities, scientists, workers, and other voters are tired of Biden falling flat on ending fossil fuels. President Biden has an opportunity to show he is taking the climate crisis as seriously as he says by confronting corporate interest and delivering for people, not polluters. President Biden must use the full extent of his power to transition away from fossil fuels and towards a renewable energy economy where everyone can thrive.
“President Biden must lead a just and equitable transition away from fossil fuels. At home, Biden must make the LNG pause permanent and stop permitting new fossil fuel projects. Abroad, he must follow through his Clean Energy Transition Partnership promise to stop using public dollars to finance fossil fuels. Following youth-led protests ahead of Earth Day, the message to Biden is clear: the time to transition away from fossil fuels is now.”