Tag: Bernie Sanders

  • Oil Change U.S. endorses Bernie Sanders for Democratic Presidential Nomination

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    March 9, 2020

    CONTACT:
    Rebecca Concepcion Apostol, rebecca@priceofoil.org
    David Turnbull, david@priceofoil.org

    Oil Change U.S. endorses Bernie Sanders for Democratic Presidential Nomination

     

    Today, Oil Change U.S. (OCUS) is announcing its endorsement of Senator Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. In response, Rebecca Concepcion Apostol, National Program Director of Oil Change U.S. provided the following statement:

    “Thanks to years of organizing, communities raising the alarm, our youth striking, and candidates taking note, our climate crisis is center stage in 2020. We need a climate champion to face off against the fossil-fueled denial of Donald Trump. Bernie Sanders is that candidate.

    “Bernie Sanders’s Green New Deal climate plan provides the ambition needed for the U.S. to become a global leader in the climate fight.1 It includes a clear intent to phase out fossil fuel production, commits to a just transition for our workers, and ensures justice for frontline communities. We believe Bernie Sanders will stand up to the industry that is causing this climate crisis every day.

    “We at Oil Change U.S. work to kick fossil fuel money out of politics, keep fossil fuels in the ground, and build political support for real climate leaders. Bernie Sanders shares these goals. He stands head and shoulders above his remaining primary opponent when it comes to his commitment to tackling the climate crisis.

    “Oil Change US’s focus is on climate and energy policies, and our climate justice crisis sits within a broader context of fights for justice for communities across our country. On critical issues such as immigration rights, access to healthcare, access to higher education, and economic justice, Bernie Sanders presents a vision for America that we stand behind.

    “To beat Donald Trump in November, it is absolutely critical that the issues that matter to the Democratic base — particularly young people and people of color who are already feeling the impacts fossil fuel production and the climate crisis — are fought for and taken on by a Democratic nominee committed to justice for all of us. Our climate crisis cannot afford four more years of inaction or even four more years of modest action that does not meet the scale of the problem.

    “We believe, as Bernie Sanders does, that our climate crisis presents us with our single greatest opportunity to build a more just and equitable future. We need someone new to come into the White House with a vision for climate action that is up to the task, and Bernie Sanders holds that vision. Bernie Sanders has shown what true climate leadership looks like and we know he will bring us closer to the promise of justice for all.”

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    MORE INFORMATION:

  • Democratic Presidential Candidates Sign “NoKXL Pledge” to Stop the Keystone XL Pipeline on Day One if Elected

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    September 4, 2019

    CONTACT:
    Mark Hefflinger, mark [at] boldnebraska.org
    Collin Rees, collin [at] priceofoil.org

    Democratic Presidential Candidates Sign “NoKXL Pledge” to Stop the Keystone XL Pipeline on Day One if Elected

    As candidates gear up for CNN and MSNBC Climate Forums, activists push for clarity on fossil fuel infrastructure

    HASTINGS, NEBRASKA — After delivering a letter asking all of the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates to sign the “NoKXL Pledge” on Aug. 13, ten of the candidates have signed onto the pledge thus far, making it clear that on Day One in office they will revoke the unprecedented, unilateral permit that President Trump issued for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline:

    – Sen. Elizabeth Warren

    – Gov. Jay Inslee (no longer in the race)

    – Sen. Bernie Sanders

    – Tom Steyer

    – Sec. Julian Castro

    – Mayor Bill de Blasio

    – Sen. Cory Booker

    – Mayor Pete Buttigieg

    – Sen. Kamala Harris

    Over the past several years, Democratic candidates and elected officials, Indigenous Peoples, and activists have made it clear that there is a link between building new fossil fuel infrastructure and climate change. Before the Keystone XL fight, many in the Democratic Party supported building more pipelines, without regard to how this infrastructure locks us into additional decades of fossil fuel dependence and worsens climate change.

    The #NoKXL Pledge is backed by a coalition of farmers, ranchers, Tribal Nations and environmental groups that have been fighting the proposed Keystone XL tar sands export pipeline for 10 years.

    The #NoKXL Pledge specifically urges the Democratic presidential candidates to pledge to:

    1) Immediately revoke the unilateral permits issued by President Trump for the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines;

    2) Direct all federal agencies (State Department, FERC, Army Corps) to submit these two projects — as well as all new energy infrastructure projects — to a true climate test;

    3) Reject any project that will exacerbate our climate crisis; and

    4) Protect property rights from eminent domain abuse and honor U.S. treaties with sovereign Tribal Nations.

    View letter to Democratic candidates urging them to take the ‘NoKXL Pledge’:

    http://boldnebraska.org/letter-urges-democratic-candidates-to-take-nokxl-pledge-to-stop-the-keystone-xl-pipeline-on-day-one-if-elected-president/

    Online petition urging all 2020 Democratic candidates to sign the NoKXL Pledge:

    https://act.oilchangeus.org/sign/NoKXL-Pledge

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    “NoKXL Pledge” Co-Sponsors:

    Bold Nebraska & Bold Alliance

    Nebraska Easement Action Team

    Ponca Tribe of Nebraska

    Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska

    Indigenous Environmental Network

    Oil Change U.S.

    Anthropocene Alliance

    Bucks Environmental Network

    Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund

    Chesapeake Climate Action Network

    Climate Hawks Vote

    Coalition Against the Pilgrim Pipeline

    Coalition Against the Rockaway Pipeline

    CREDO Action

    Earth Action

    Friends of the Earth Action

    Greenbelt Climate Action Network

    Greenpeace USA

    MN350

    New York Climate Action Group

    NYC Grassroots Alliance

    Progressive Democrats of America

    Seeding Sovereignty

    Sunrise Movement

    350.org Action

  • Letter Urges Dem Candidates to Take “NoKXL Pledge” to Stop the Keystone XL Pipeline on Day One if Elected

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    August 13, 2019

    CONTACT:
    Mark Hefflinger, mark [at] boldnebraska.org
    Collin Rees, collin [at] priceofoil.org
    Ryan Schleeter, rschleeter [at] greenpeace.org

    Letter Urges Democratic Candidates to Take “NoKXL Pledge” to Stop the Keystone XL Pipeline on Day One if Elected President

    Landowner, Indigenous and environmental groups announce petition campaign and ‘bird-dogging’ on the campaign trail

    HASTINGS, NEBRASKA — Today, a coalition of landowners, Tribal Nations and environmental groups that have been fighting the proposed Keystone XL tar sands export pipeline for 10 years sent a letter to all Democratic presidential candidates, urging them to take the ‘NoKXL Pledge’ and make it clear that on Day One in office they will revoke the unprecedented, unilateral permit that President Trump issued for the controversial pipeline.

    The letter specifically urges the Democratic presidential candidates to pledge to immediately revoke the unilateral permits issued by President Trump for the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines. It also urges candidates to pledge to direct all federal agencies (State Department, FERC, Army Corps) to submit these two projects — as well as all new energy infrastructure projects — to a true ‘climate test,’ and reject any project that will exacerbate our climate crisis. Further, it calls on the Democratic candidates to protect property rights from eminent domain abuse and to honor U.S. treaties with sovereign Tribal Nations.

    View the letter to Democratic candidates urging them to take the ‘NoKXL Pledge’:
    http://boldnebraska.org/nokxlpledge

    QUOTES:

    “There is no middle ground when it comes to protecting the land, water and climate,” said Jane Kleeb, Bold Nebraska founder. “You either stand with family farmers, ranchers, Tribal Nations and environmentalists — or you stand with fossil fuel corporations who are abusing eminent domain, and trampling on the treaty rights of Tribal Nations.”

    “We need a presidential candidate that is serious about fighting climate change and supporting Indigenous Rights,” said Dallas Goldtooth, Keep It In The Ground Campaigner for the Indigenous Environmental Network. “Tribal nations and communities are battling for the survival of our ecosystems and ways of life, and we need a president who will stand with us against Big Oil and the fossil fuel regime. Signing the NoKXL pledge is a solid step in the right direction.”

    “Talking a big game on climate doesn’t mean much if you’re still building massive pipelines like Keystone XL and doing the fossil fuel industry’s bidding. Any candidate who wants to be taken seriously on climate needs to stand up to Big Oil and say, ‘No,’” said Collin Rees, Senior Campaigner at Oil Change U.S. “Climate leadership means standing with frontline and Indigenous communities, farmers and ranchers, and young people by stopping the deadly expansion of the fossil fuel industry and enacting a just transition for workers and communities.”

    “Any Democratic candidate claiming to be a real climate leader will take the NoKXL Pledge and commit to stopping the Keystone XL pipeline on Day One. The NoKXL pledge is a critical step in moving towards stopping all new fossil fuel projects and protecting communities already experiencing the devastation of fossil fuel disasters. To build systems that work for all of us, we must keep fossil fuels in the ground, prioritize Indigenous rights, workers and frontline communities, and hold fossil fuel billionaires accountable for their destruction. Together we’ve stopped the Keystone XL pipeline for over a decade. It’s time all Presidential candidates join us and commit to stopping KXL once and for all,” said Natalie Mebane, Associate Director of U.S. Policy at 350 Action.

    “Candidates must do more than pay lip service to climate change and the communities impacted by dangerous fossil fuel projects like Keystone XL. The American people demand to know who will make decisions based on science, not Big Oil profits. Our next president must serve the needs of communities and Tribal Nations, not corporate donors,” said Nicole Ghio with Friends of the Earth Action.

    “Our next president needs to listen to the science that says we can’t build new fossil fuel projects and fight climate change at the same time, not the polluters who say we don’t have a choice. Reversing Trump’s misguided Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipeline authorizations on day one sends a clear message to the fossil fuel executives that their days of power over the White House are over,” said Charlie Jiang, Greenpeace USA Climate Campaigner.

    “Our climate is in crisis and Donald Trump has done more than most presidents to make that crisis spiral into chaos,” said Josh Nelson, CREDO Action co-director. “Every Democratic candidate must commit to the NoKXL pledge to show they will be bold leaders to combat climate change and protect our environment and communities.”

    View online petition urging Democratic candidates to take the “NoKXL Pledge”:

    https://act.oilchangeus.org/sign/NoKXL-Pledge

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    “NoKXL Pledge” Co-Sponsors:

    Bold Nebraska & Bold Alliance

    Nebraska Easement Action Team

    Ponca Tribe of Nebraska

    Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska

    Indigenous Environmental Network

    Oil Change U.S.

    Anthropocene Alliance

    Bucks Environmental Network

    Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund

    Chesapeake Climate Action Network

    Climate Hawks Vote

    Coalition Against the Pilgrim Pipeline

    Coalition Against the Rockaway Pipeline

    CREDO Action

    Earth Action

    Friends of the Earth Action

    Greenbelt Climate Action Network

    Greenpeace USA

    New York Climate Action Group

    NYC Grassroots Alliance

    Progressive Democrats of America

    Sunrise Movement

    350.org Action

  • A Big Week for Real Climate Leadership in the 2020 Primary

    It’s been a big week for advancing the climate discussion in the 2020 presidential primaries and our collective efforts to raise the bar for real climate leadership.

    On Monday, Senator Elizabeth Warren released her plan for the U.S.’s public lands, which includes an important commitment to sign a moratorium on new fossil fuel leases on public lands and public waters on Day One of her presidency. The plan also includes important elements such as heavy investments in green jobs and respect for Indigenous sovereignty, including exploring co-management and the return of resources to Indigenous protection wherever possible.

    Later on Monday, Senator Bernie Sanders joined in by releasing an updated climate platform from his campaign to “Combat Climate Change and Passing a Green New Deal.” The platform focuses on Sanders’ plans to create millions of high-quality jobs, transition to 100% sustainable energy, ban fracking and all new fossil fuel infrastructure, and ban fossil fuel leases on public lands, end exports of coal, natural gas, and crude oil, and more.

    And today, the New York Times released the results of a “climate policy survey” sent to all 18 major presidential campaigns, asking contenders a variety of questions regarding their plans to confront the climate crisis. It’s worth noting that not all candidates responded to all questions on the survey, and that Senator Sanders declined to go on the record with official statements in many cases. But, caveats aside, these new survey results provide an interesting window into how candidates are planning to confront the fossil fuel industry and the climate crisis, and specifically into how they’re willing to discuss these issues in a public forum.

    Expressing vague support for the Paris Agreement and renewable energy is good, but it’s far from sufficient in a time of rapidly mounting climate impacts and new reports on a weekly basis showing what a deep hole the world is in on climate. Even as candidates are talking more about climate change than the past elections, we’ve yet to see most of them lay out detailed plans to deal with it. That’s why we’ve joined the push for a Democratic primary debate focused solely on climate crisis and candidates’ specific plans to phase out fossil fuel extraction and accelerate the clean energy transition.

    Real climate leadership in 2019 means being willing to stand up and vocally oppose the fossil fuel industry, and to talk about how to stop the industry’s expansion and carefully phase-out fossil fuel production in a way that protects impacted communities and workers. As Republicans and their fossil fuel industry sponsors continue to obscure and deny the reality of the climate crisis, it’s more important than ever for Democrats to put forth and proudly tout bold visions for how to stop the buildout of deadly fossil fuel infrastructure and implement an aggressive transition to a new economy that protects the dignity of workers and communities.

    With that in mind, this week has seen some critically important public statements from candidates about their plans to constrain Big Oil, Gas, and Coal’s expansion and implemented a controlled wind-down of fossil fuel production that addresses environmental injustices and strengthens labor protections. Here’s a quick run-down of what candidates have been saying this week to advance real climate leadership via the NYT survey or other public statements:

    Implementing a “Climate Test” on Energy Projects

    Gov. Jay Inslee (from NYT survey): “One of the first important steps that must be taken […] is to reinstate crucial Obama-era federal climate policies, and strengthen them. This includes […] how federal agencies consider the climate impacts of major energy projects in their environmental review processes.”

    Andrew Yang (from NYT survey): “I will direct the EPA to include CO2 in its review of standards, and specifically with respect to oil refineries.”

    Ending Fossil Fuel Subsidies

    Sen. Elizabeth Warren (from NYT survey): “I oppose subsidies for fossil fuel companies and have spoken out repeatedly against the influence that Big Oil and carbon-based industries wield in Washington.”

    Gov. Jay Inslee (from NYT survey): “In our state efforts […] we have found the vast amount of carbon savings came from investments, and there are many ways to fund those, including rolling back the Trump tax cuts and ending subsidies for fossil-fuel companies.”

    Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (from NYT survey): “I would take on the fossil-fuel industry by ending the $26 billion per year the American people are currently paying in subsidies and invest that in our green [energy] economy.”

    Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (from NYT survey): “Details on how to achieve 100 percent renewable energy goals by 2035 include […] ending fossil-fuel subsidies.”

    Marianne Williamson (from NYT survey): “I would end all subsidies for dirty energy and transfer them to subsidies for clean energy.”

    Banning Fossil Fuel Infrastructure

    Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (from NYT survey): “Details on how to achieve 100 percent renewable energy goals by 2035 include […] a moratorium on new major fossil-fuel projects and banning fracking.”

    Sen. Elizabeth Warren (from public lands plan released Monday): “On my first day as president, I will sign an executive order that says no more drilling — a total moratorium on all new fossil fuel leases, including for drilling offshore and on public lands.”

    Sen. Bernie Sanders (from climate platform released Monday): “Ban fracking and new fossil fuel infrastructure and keep oil, gas, and coal in the ground by banning fossil fuel leases on public lands.”

    Banning Exports of Dirty Energy

    Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (from NYT survey): “Details on how to achieve 100 percent renewable energy goals by 2035 include […] a ban on crude oil and LNG exports.”

    Sen. Bernie Sanders (from climate platform released Monday): “End exports of coal, natural gas, and crude oil.”

    None of these positions alone will be sufficient, but they’re all important contributions to what a Green New Deal or any other comprehensive climate policy framework should look like. We’ll be on the lookout in the coming weeks and months for candidates to keep fleshing out their climate plans with specific policies and plans to meet the transformational scale of action needed to pass a Green New Deal that phases out the fossil fuel industry and phases in a new era of prosperity for all.

    It’s no mere coincidence that every single contender listed above has taken the No Fossil Fuel Money pledge to reject contributions from fossil fuel industry PACs, lobbyists, and executives – refusing the industry’s political influence is a key step toward being willing to take bold stances like the ones below to address the climate crisis. We look forward to seeing other candidates rise to meet the new bar for climate leadership and continue to raise it by signing the No Fossil Fuel Money pledge and outlining bold policy visions like these.

     

     

    PAID FOR BY OIL CHANGE U.S., WWW.OILCHANGEUS.ORG, NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE, CANDIDATE’S AUTHORIZED POLITICAL COMMITTEE, OR CANDIDATE’S AGENTS.

  • Response to Bernie Sanders’ climate platform to ban new fossil fuel infrastructure, end polluting exports, and generate millions of jobs

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    April 16, 2019

    CONTACT:
    Collin Rees, 308-293-3159, collin [at] priceofoil.org

    Oil Change U.S. response to Bernie Sanders’ climate platform to ban new fossil fuel infrastructure, end polluting exports, and generate millions of jobs  

    Yesterday, presidential contender Bernie Sanders released his plan to combat climate change and pass a Green New Deal, committing to ban fracking, new fossil fuel infrastructure, and fossil fuel leases on public lands, and end the export of coal, natural gas, and crude oil. In response, Collin Rees, Senior Campaigner at Oil Change U.S., issued the following statement:

    “Directly confronting the fossil fuel industry must be a key part of any Green New Deal to tackle climate change. That’s why it’s great to see Senator Sanders’ new climate platform hit the industry where it hurts by banning new fossil fuel infrastructure, stopping fracking, banning fossil fuel leases on public lands, and ending polluting exports. Any climate plan must ensure the transition to a fossil-free economy protects workers and vulnerable communities, which is why Sanders’ commitment to a transition to family-sustaining wage and union jobs is crucial.

    “Along with Senator Warren’s commitment to ban new fossil fuel leases on public lands on Day One, this plan from Senator Sanders means we’re seeing the bar for climate leadership raised to new heights. Other presidential contenders should follow suit and get serious about plans for a equitable phase-out of fossil fuels and an end to dirty infrastructure. That’s why Oil Change is joining progressive allies in asking the Democratic Party to hold a debate focused on the climate crisis and candidates’ plans to confront the fossil fuel industry and ensure a just transition.”

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    Notes to Editors:

    – Sen. Sanders’ climate position can be found here:
    https://berniesanders.com/issues/combat-climate-change-and-pass-a-green-new-deal/

    – Sen. Warren’s policy position on public lands can be found here: https://medium.com/@teamwarren/my-plan-for-public-lands-e4be1d88a01c

    – Research by Oil Change International has found that without government action to limit fossil fuel production, including on public lands, the U.S. is poised for a massive expansion of drilling and carbon pollution: http://priceofoil.org/2019/01/16/report-drilling-towards-disaster/

     

    PAID FOR BY OIL CHANGE U.S., WWW.OILCHANGEUS.ORG, NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE, CANDIDATE’S AUTHORIZED POLITICAL COMMITTEE, OR CANDIDATE’S AGENTS.