Tag: Biden

  • Biden Steps Down – A Pivotal Moment for Climate Action, Says Oil Change U.S. Executive Director

    For IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    July 21, 2024

    In response to President Biden stepping down, Elizabeth Bast, Oil Change U.S. Executive Director, said:

    “With extreme storms, crushing heat, and severe droughts, Joe Biden’s decision to step down as the presidential nominee is a pivotal moment for climate action. While Biden entered the White House vowing to stop drilling on public lands, oil production surged to unprecedented levels under his presidency. This catastrophic increase will have lasting dangerous effects on our health and safety for many years to come. 

    “The Democratic National Convention must seize this opportunity to select a candidate with a proven climate record who will prioritize transitioning away from fossil fuels and address the climate crisis head-on. Our future hinges on this decision. Whether it is Kamala Harris or another candidate, we will hold their feet to the fire to ensure they are the climate president we desperately need. This is a chance to leave a lasting climate legacy and truly lead on the global stage. 

    “It shows leadership and courage for Biden to step down to avoid a Trump presidency. Another Trump term would spell disaster, especially for Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities, and strike a blow against our climate ambitions. A candidate backed by people power is our path forward to a sustainable future. As the world watches, U.S. climate leadership must mean stopping oil and gas expansion, ending fossil fuel subsidies, and leading a just transition.”

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    Oil Change U.S. is a national organization focused on exposing the true costs of fossil fuels, supporting real climate leadership, and building a just, equitable, and renewable energy future in the United States. Oil Change U.S. is one of several organizations that coordinates the national No Fossil Fuel Money pledge and the national Green New Deal Champions campaign. For more information, please visit OilChangeUS.org.

  • Oil Change U.S. and Partners Launch ‘Gas Is Not Clean’ Campaign

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    September 1, 2021

    Contact:
    Collin Rees, collin@priceofoil.org
    Ellen Sciales, press@sunrisemovement.org

    Oil Change U.S. and Partners Launch ‘Gas Is Not Clean’ Campaign

    WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Oil Change U.S., Sunrise Movement, Evergreen Action, Sierra Club, Earthjustice, Working Families Party, Greenpeace USA, Indivisible, People’s Action, and other partners launched a joint Gas Is Not Clean campaign aimed at strengthening a potential Clean Energy Standard (CES) — also known as the Clean Energy Payment Program (CEPP) — by ensuring that gas is prohibited. The Gas Is Not Clean campaign will build pressure on politicians to commit to prioritizing truly clean, renewable energy and definitively excluding gas by making clear that gas is not clean, and that every stage of its production — from extraction to processing to transport to combustion — generates toxic air and water pollution.

    The groups and their allies on Capitol Hill are demanding members of Congress make it clear they will fight to keep gas out of a CEPP. The campaign website will track which members of Congress are supporting this priority, and will serve as a resource for House and Senate Leadership to see the broad support among their caucus for excluding gas from any definition of clean energy. The groups behind this campaign will be engaging members of Congress through digital amplification, email and social media campaigns, and local organizing efforts in-District. 

    This campaign comes ahead of the House Energy & Commerce Committee’s anticipated September 13 mark-up session, in which the House committee will advance language for a new clean energy standard to constrain emissions. 

    “With climate disasters coming at us from every direction, the stakes of the reconciliation bill could not be higher. This is our moment to turbocharge the transition to a green, just economy, and the Clean Energy Standard can play a key role – but it needs to be as ambitious as possible on renewables, and it needs to exclude gas. This is not complicated, and we can’t allow the gas industry to confuse the issue. No fossil fuels, period.”
    — U.S.     Representative Jamaal Bowman, NY-16

    “The evidence is clear: Gas is a deadly fossil fuel that’s a disaster for the climate and communities. Any clean energy standard or payment program that allows gas would fly directly in the face of President Biden’s commitment to decarbonization. Clean energy means no gas and no other fossil fuels, period.”
    — Collin Rees, Campaign Manager, Oil Change U.S.

    “We’re making our politicians pick a side — are you with us or fossil fuel executives? The science is clear: there is nothing clean about gas. It’s a potent fossil fuel that pollutes the air we breathe, the water we drink, and is the reason Hurricane Ida intensified to the point of fatality and utter destruction. A CES that includes investments towards gas does not meet the scale of the climate crisis, and is a slap in the face to communities across the country who are facing climate disasters. We deserve a liveable future free of toxic pollution and catastrophic climate disasters. We will continue to pressure members of Congress until they exclude gas from the CES.”
    — Lauren Maunus, Advocacy Director, Sunrise Movement

    “Natural gas is a dirty fossil fuel. Just like oil, it pollutes the air and water wherever it is extracted, produced, and burned. The fossil fuel driven climate crisis is already bringing record heat waves, massive storms, and crippling droughts that are killing people and destroying communities across the country. Natural gas is nothing more than corporate PR and marketing teams trying to rebrand fossil fuels — if oil is Coke, natural gas is New Coke. We can’t afford a Clean Energy Payment Program that pays the fossil fuel industry to continue to destroy our planet and our communities.”
    — Ashley Thomson, Climate Campaigner, Greenpeace USA 

    “At a time when we have unprecedented wildfires, hurricanes, and devastating extreme weather events caused by the climate crisis it is well past time to listen to the science — gas is not clean. Indivisible demands a Clean Electricity Payment Program explicitly excludes gas. Anything less than that sanctions the pollution of our air, water, and communities.”
    — Ann Clancy, Senior Climate Policy Manager, Indivisible

    “A Clean Electricity Payment Program has the potential to displace polluting fossil fuels, secure pollution reductions in overburdened communities, and achieve a 100% carbon pollution-free electricity grid by 2035. Yet we can only achieve these goals if a CEPP does not incentivize or credit gas power generation, which would eliminate any possibility of reaching our GHG reduction commitments and avoiding the worst effects of climate change. In addition to emissions at power plants, when methane leaks are accounted for across the gas production, transmission, and distribution systems, the total GHG impact of gas power is nearly doubled, and the toxic waste left behind from the fracking process continues to harm communities across the country. Continuing to rely on gas will only further the environmental injustices faced by communities of Black, Indigeneous, and other people of color who already disproportionately bear the effects of pollution and climate change.”
     — Kass Rohrbach, Acting Director – Ready for 100, Sierra Club

    “Trying to stop the climate crisis with gas is like trying to put out a fire with gas. It will only make the problem worse.”
    — Jamie DeMarco, Federal & Maryland Policy Director, Chesapeake Climate Action Network

    “We must ban all fossil fuels and greenhouse gas pollution immediately to mitigate the unfolding planetary disaster which Congress shamefully has failed to address.”
    — Todd Fernandez, Executive Director, Climate Crisis Policy

    The full list of groups joining the Gas is Not Clean campaign for today’s launch include:

    – Chesapeake Climate Action Network

    – Climate Crisis Policy

    – Earthjustice

    – Elders Climate Action

    – Evergreen Action

    – Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility

    – Greenpeace USA

    – Indivisible

    – Interfaith Power & Light

    – NDN Collective

    – Oil Change U.S.

    – People’s Action

    – Sierra Club

    – Sunrise Movement

    – Working Families Party

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  • Oil Change U.S. Responds to Additional Biden Selections on Climate, Energy

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    December 17, 2020

    Contact:
    Collin Rees, collin [at] priceofoil.org

    Oil Change U.S. Responds to Additional Biden Selections on Climate, Energy

    Multiple news outlets have now confirmed the selection of U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM) as President-Elect Joe Biden’s Secretary of the Interior. This follows other key energy and climate selections by Biden’s Transition Team throughout the week.

    In response to these announcements, Collin Rees, Senior Campaigner at Oil Change U.S., released the following statement:

    “Rep. Deb Haaland’s selection as Secretary of the Interior is a victory for Indigenous communities who have been resisting the colonization and exploitation of their land and lives for hundreds of years. It’s also a win for Indigenous leaders and progressives who’ve been relentlessly pushing Joe Biden to follow through on his campaign promises and build an adminstration that will confront the climate crisis and prioritize environmental justice.

    “Rep. Haaland has a long record of standing up to fossil fuel giveaways and opposing disastrous projects like the Dakota Access oil pipeline. We look forward to a champion for climate justice leading a key department to kickstart an end to the expansion of the fossil fuel industry and implement a just transition for workers and communities.

    “This nomination continues Biden’s rejection of top candidates with fossil fuel ties, and follows the selection of bold leaders like Gina McCarthy, Brenda Mallory, and Jennifer Granholm to head other parts of his energy and climate teams.

    “Taken together, it’s clear Biden is listening and responding to public pressure to go bold on climate, environmental justice, and racial equity. This week’s launch of the nationwide Build Back Fossil Free campaign will continue to build that pressure and uplift frontline resistance to deadly fossil fuel projects and environmental injustice.”

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    Notes to Editors

    – Oil Change U.S. previously responded to Biden’s selection of Jennifer Granholm as Secretary of Energy and Gina McCarthy as domestic “climate czar”: https://oilchangeus.org/response-biden-cabinet-energy-climate

    – Today, dozens of leading progressive groups launched the Build Back Fossil Free campaign to pressure Biden and his appointees to take bold action to confront the fossil fuel industry and fulfill his promises on climate change, environmental justice, and racial equity: https://buildbackfossilfree.org

    – In September, 145 organizations sent a letter to the Biden campaign opposing all fossil fuel-connected appointees: https://oilchangeus.org/biden-personnel-letter

    – In November, advocates launched a dedicated website opposed to Ernest Moniz and other fossil fuel representatives serving in a Biden administration: https://nomoniz.org

  • Over 40 groups to Biden: Hochberg’s fossil fuel record makes him unfit to be a top aide

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    December 7, 2020

    Contact:
    Collin Rees, collin [at] priceofoil.org
    Kaela Bamberger, kaela [at] foe.org

    Over 40 groups send letter: Hochberg’s fossil fuel record makes him unfit to be a top aide for Biden

    WASHINGTON, DC — Over 40 environmental groups sent a letter today to the Biden Transition Team decrying Fred Hochberg’s potential leadership as a top aide in the Biden Administration. The signatories to the letter include Friends of the Earth US, Oil Change U.S., Greenpeace USA, the Rainforest Action Network, and the Center for Biological Diversity.

    Hochberg served as the President and Chairman of the US Export-Import Bank (EXIM), the official U.S. export credit agency. Hochberg’s fossil fueled legacy at EXIM disqualifies him for a top aide position with the new Biden administration, the groups claim.

    “Hochberg was a disaster at EXIM, turning the institution into the fossil fuel bank,” said Doug Norlen, economic policy director at Friends of the Earth U.S. “Under Hochberg’s leadership, EXIM supported projects like the Sasan coal plant and mine that have resulted in at least 36 deaths. This cruel legacy means Hochberg has forfeited his right to a place in the Biden administration.”

    Hochberg was shortlisted in early November as a potential candidate for U.S. Trade Representative, as well as other high-level positions in the Biden administration.

    “The legacy of Fred Hochberg’s Export-Import Bank is filled with climate destruction and egregious human rights violations,” said Collin Rees, senior campaigner at Oil Change U.S. “Joe Biden must move forward and implement a swift end to U.S. fossil fuel finance — and that means Fred Hochberg shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near power in the next administration.”

    “Given his record of support for fossil fuel expansion world-wide, and for deadly, polluting, and corruption-inducing projects, we urge you to reject Fred Hochberg for U.S. Trade Representative and other key administration positions,” the letter reads.

    Fred Hochberg’s consideration for a top position is in direct violation of Biden’s pledge to jumpstart a Presidency focused on climate solutions. In his seven years at EXIM under Obama, Hochberg oversaw USD 34 billion in investments in fossil fuel projects, which is three times as much as EXIM spent on fossil fuels the previous eight years under George W. Bush.

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  • Opposition to Ernie Moniz and Fossil Fuel Appointments Intensifies

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    November 25, 2020

    Contact:
    Collin Rees, collin [at] priceofoil.org
    Jamie Henn, jamie [at] fossilfree.media

    Website: NoMoniz.org
    Photos + Video: https://media.greenpeace.org/shoot/27MDHUSNP1M

    Opposition to Ernie Moniz and Fossil Fuel Appointments Intensifies

    Moniz’s extensive fossil fuel ties have made him a top target for climate activists

    Washington, D.C. — A broad coalition of climate, progressive, and environmental justice groups are engaged in an all-out push to keep former Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz out of the Biden Administration, because of Moniz’s extensive ties to the fossil fuel and nuclear industries, retrograde views on climate policy, and outright hostility towards climate advocates. 

    On Wednesday, groups including the Climate Justice Alliance, Oil Change U.S., Greenpeace USA, Sunrise Movement, Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth U.S., and more launched a new website, NoMoniz.org, to rally opposition against Moniz. This followed an action on Tuesday evening in Washington, DC, in which messages urging Biden to reject Moniz and choose a fossil-free cabinet were projected onto the main Department of Energy building. Photos and videos are available here.

    “With his deep ties to the fossil fuel industry and promotion of false solutions like carbon capture and sequestration, Ernest Moniz is not a forward-thinking choice for the Cabinet. As we face interlinked challenges like never before, we need people in the President-elect’s Cabinet willing to listen to and collaborate with the most innovative sectors while centering the frontline, environmental justice communities most harmed by extractive energy practices,” said Angela Adrar, Executive Director of the Climate Justice Alliance. “The Department of Energy must be led by someone open to concrete ideas for a fossil-free future, not continued dominance by a corrupt, heavily-subsidized industry whose existence hinges on maintaining an antiquated all-of-the-above strategy. Moniz’s track record and standing associations are proof he is not that person. If President-elect Biden’s proclamation to ‘build back better’ is genuine, he must look forward, not backward.”

    “Ernest Moniz’s ‘all of the above’ energy policies might be good for his friends in the coal, oil, and gas industries, but they’re a death sentence for us and our planet,” the website reads. “It’s unacceptable that Moniz is being considered for a role in the Biden administration — his policies, financial ties to fossil fuel companies, contempt for youth climate activists, and overall unwillingness to do what it takes to protect our future should disqualify him immediately.” 

    The site features a letter from over 75 organizations to President-elect Joe Biden urging him not to appoint Moniz to any position within his administration. It also references a letter signed by over 150 organizations urging Biden not to appoint people with ties to the fossil fuel industry. Moniz — who served on the board of a major fossil fuel utility and regularly collaborates with industry front groups — clearly fails that test. 

    “Ernest Moniz’s ties to the fossil fuel industry spell danger for the nation’s efforts to mitigate the climate crisis,” said Greenpeace USA Climate Campaign Director Janet Redman. “Moniz’s ability to represent our communities’ best interests is compromised by his deep ties to the fossil fuel industry — including his current board position at Southern Company, one of the most polluting oil and gas utilities in the U.S. We need a true climate leader who understands that we must phase out fossil fuels, not a corporate shill with ‘all of the above energy’ policies who wants to prop up fracked gas and pipelines. The American people have given Joe Biden a mandate to take bold action in service of climate justice, public health, economic prosperity, and racial equity. Moniz would only be holding him back.”

    Moniz’s ties to the fossil fuel industry and his continued support for oil and gas are well documented. Moniz serves on the board of Southern Company, one of the U.S.’s most fossil fuel-heavy power companies, and his consultancy is a partner in an LNG export facility in Louisiana. He’s worked closely with fossil fuel industry front groups like SoCalGas to advocate for an ongoing role for climate-polluting methane gas. He’s touted boondoggles like ‘clean coal.’ 

    The Energy Initiative Moniz founded at MIT took millions of dollars from oil companies to “support sponsored research projects aligned with their strategic interests.” He’s also been a leading critic of the Green New Deal, going so far as to introduce his own so-called “Green Real Deal,” and has disparaged youth climate activists around the world as the “climate elite.” 

    “President-elect Joe Biden has a mandate to govern as a climate president, and that means keeping fossil fuel representatives like Ernest Moniz far from the White House,” said Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “To protect people and wildlife from irreversible climate chaos, Biden must use every tool at his disposal to phase out fossil fuel production and advance environmental justice. That means saying no to advice from Moniz and his friends in the oil and gas industry.”

    Groups are also concerned about Moniz’s extensive ties to the nuclear industry. As energy secretary, Moniz ensured $8 billion in U.S. taxpayer-backed loans went to two new nuclear reactors at Southern Company’s Plant Vogtle in Georgia.

    “Moniz has undermined climate progress to curry favor with the nuclear industry. He even authorized a process that shifted the financial risk for these dangerous, money-sucking projects onto the public. Taxpayers could very well be saddled with a massive bill for this nuclear debacle,” said Karen Orenstein, Climate and Energy Director at Friends of the Earth U.S. “As Moniz collects donations to his own organizations from Southern Company’s foundation, the Vogtle project drags on, ensuring continued greenhouse emissions and diverting billions of dollars from real climate solutions. If President-elect Biden is to truly prioritize the public interest over polluters and profiteers, he must not give Moniz any role whatsoever in his Administration.”

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  • Response to Biden Presidential Election Victory

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    November 7, 2020

    Contact:
    David Turnbull, david [at] priceofoil.org

    Oil Change U.S. Response to Biden Presidential Election Victory

    Multiple news outlets have now confirmed the results of enough states to give Joe Biden the necessary 270 electoral votes to win the presidential election. In response, Oil Change U.S. experts released the following statements:

    Elizabeth Bast, Executive Director:

    “The victory of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris over Donald Trump is an important victory for democracy against fascism. It’s a win for the climate and for trusting science, and it’s a win for all who fought to stand up to Trump and his blatant racism and misogyny. But the work is nowhere near over. These next four years may be the most critical years we’ve ever seen — for the climate, for restoring our democracy, and for pushing back against growing white supremacy and moving towards real racial justice.

    “Joe Biden said he will transition the U.S. away from oil, and we’re here for it. The American public is desperate for real climate action, and we look forward to working with the Biden and Harris administration to live up to all they’ve promised. This includes taking critical first steps in winding down an out of control fossil fuel industry in the United States: stopping the Keystone XL pipeline yet again, ending fossil fuel leases on public lands, ending fossil fuel subsidies and finance, implementing strong environmental justice standards and respecting Indigenous sovereignty, and recommitting to international climate leadership through re-engaging with the Paris Agreement and leading the G20 in a transition away from fossil fuels.

    “There is much work to do, but we welcome this opportunity to advance our collective efforts for climate justice and a managed decline of fossil fuels.”

     

    Rebecca Concepcion Apostol, National Program Director:

    “While the Biden climate plan is perhaps the most ambitious of any incoming President, we know it’s still not enough to protect our climate and communities from the mounting disasters we are facing all over the country. After a round of well-deserved celebrations, we’ll get back to work pushing with the urgency our climate crisis requires. A critical first step in the days ahead is ensuring Biden appoints true climate champions to all key positions and keeps fossil fuel representatives and lobbyists out of the incoming administration.

    “We need to see a new Biden administration move aggressively to phase out fossil fuel production in the United States with a people-centered just transition for workers and communities, including enacting ambitious executive orders to get the ball rolling immediately upon taking office, and working to instate climate action that matches the needs of the people.”

     

    Alex Doukas, Stop Funding Fossils Program Director:

    “Joe Biden has repeatedly committed to ending the billions in subsidies that go to the fossil fuel industry each year, and we look forward to holding him to this commitment. Biden has spoken frequently about moving the United States into a leadership position on climate, and one way he can back that rhetoric up is to end U.S. public support for fossil fuel production abroad. This would mean ending dirty finance overseas via the Export Import Bank, Development Finance Corporation, and U.S. participation in multilateral development banks, while delivering on Biden’s campaign promise to get a G20 commitment on ending export finance for high-carbon projects, including all fossil fuel infrastructure.”

     

    Collin Rees, Senior Campaigner:

    “This election has played out in a time of extreme turmoil — it’s happened amidst a deadly pandemic, an unprecedented uprising against racial injustice, and a climate crisis seizing headlines like never before. People-powered movements have changed the public conversation, and climate is now a top concern for voters.

    “Progressives across the country in swing districts and swing states proved that by leaning into bold, winning messages like standing up to Big Oil’s dirty dollars, providing health care for all, and defunding the racist police state, Democrats can win big. But the conversation in DC is stuck in the past, and we’ll need to push harder than ever to stop false solutions and win the transformative climate agenda we need. Joe Biden must lay out a bold agenda on climate from Day One, and we’ll be here to hold him to it.”

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  • Oil Change U.S. Response to Final Presidential Debate

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    October 22, 2020

    Contact:
    Rebecca Concepcion Apostol, rebecca [at] priceofoil.org
    David Turnbull, david [at] priceofoil.org

    Oil Change U.S. Response to Final Presidential Debate

    Tonight, President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden faced off in the final debate before the election. Oil Change U.S. has endorsed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for President and Vice President. See our previous statement here. In response to tonight’s debate, Rebecca Concepcion Apostol, National Program Director of Oil Change U.S. released the following statement:

    “As if we could have expected anything less, tonight was yet another opportunity to see the drastic difference between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. On one hand, we have a measured, reasonable public servant who clearly understands the gravity of the climate crisis, that families belong together, and we must confront critical issues facing our country. While we may not always agree with his approach, we can see his willingness to listen, proven by a commitment to ending federal subsidies to the oil industry, and we look forward to finding solutions and common ground. On the other hand, we have Donald Trump, unhinged and desperate, flailing about, spewing a combination of lies and hateful rhetoric at every turn.

    “With just over a week to the election, it’s fundamentally clear that our democracy, our humanity, and our climate are all at stake. A second term of Donald Trump would be a disaster of historic proportions. A Joe Biden administration would give us a fighting chance at a more just world for all our families, and we look forward to engaging in that fight once Biden is elected.”

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    Oil Change U.S. is dedicated to supporting real climate leadership, exposing the true costs of fossil fuels, and building a just, equitable, and renewable energy future in the United States. Read more at http://oilchangeus.org.

  • Response: Biden Commits to Keep Fossil Fuel Reps Out of Transition Team

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    October 1, 2020

    Contact:
    Collin Rees, collin [at] priceofoil.org
    David Turnbull, david [at] priceofoil.org

    Response: Biden Commits to Keep Fossil Fuel Reps Out of Transition Team

    This week, the Biden-Harris campaign released its legally-mandated Transition Team Ethics Plan, outlining how it intends to staff its transition team. Notably, the plan includes a ban on lobbyists serving in the transition team, as well as the statement that “Biden aims to ensure that those who serve are aligned with his values and policy priorities, and have not, for example, been leaders at fossil fuel or private prison companies.”

    This commitment to exclude leaders at fossil fuel companies follows significant pressure from the climate community to keep out advisors with fossil fuel ties.

    In response, Collin Rees, Senior Campaigner at Oil Change U.S. issued the following statement:

    “Committing to a fossil-free transition team is exactly what we need to see heading into a new administration with climate impacts mounting rapidly.

    “We applaud the Biden-Harris campaign for this important step, and we look forward to this common-sense commitment being extended to cover an eventual Biden Cabinet and administration.

    “Keeping fossil fuel representatives out of the federal government is a position that’s extremely popular with Democrats and the entire American public, and builds on the key improvements Biden has made to his climate plan since the primary. The Biden-Harris campaign is clearly listening to its potential allies, and this willingness to listen and adapt will be critical in the months ahead.”

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    Notes to Editors:

    — Letter from 145 grassroots organizations: https://oilchangeus.org/biden-personnel-letter/

    — Letter from Biden donors: https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/climate-donors-letter/caf012041052a8cc/full.pdf

    — Polling from Data For Progress and Fossil Free Media demonstrating wide public support: https://filesforprogress.org/datasets/2020/9/dfp_ff_executives_polling.pdf

  • Climate Activists React to Biden’s Moves to Ban Fossil Fuel Executives from Transition Team

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    October 1, 2020

    Contact:
    Collin Rees, collin [at] priceofoil.org
    Jamie Henn, jamie [at] fossilfree.media

    Climate Activists React to Biden’s Moves to Ban Fossil Fuel Executives from Transition Team 

    Washington, DC — After pressure from progressives and climate activists, Vice President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that he is barring fossil fuel company leaders and executives from his presidential transition team. 

    This September, over 145 organizations sent Biden a letter requesting that he ban fossil fuel executives, lobbyists, and representatives from his campaign and administration. 

    Today’s announcement from the transition team should block controversial figures like former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, who served on the board of Southern Company and regularly advises fossil fuel companies, as well as former Obama Administration official Heather Zichal, who earned $1 million as an advisor and board member for Cheniere Energy, a natural gas company. 

    According to polling from Data for Progress and Fossil Free Media, voters oppose fossil fuel industry lobbyists or representatives working in the executive branch by a 22-point margin. 61 percent of Democrats oppose fossil fuel industry representatives working in the administration, while only 22 percent are open to the idea. 

    Groups involved in the push to ban fossil fuel lobbyists issued the following responses: 

    “Committing to a fossil-free transition team is exactly what we need to see heading into a new administration. Keeping fossil fuel representatives out of the federal government is a position that’s extremely popular with the public, and builds on the key improvements Biden has made to his climate plan, said Collin Rees, Senior Campaigner at Oil Change U.S. “We look forward to this common-sense commitment being extended to cover an eventual Biden Cabinet and administration.” 

    “We’re heartened to see Joe Biden and Kamala Harris listen to grassroots climate hawks,” said RL Miller, political director of Climate Hawks Vote. “Fossil fuel advocates have no place on an administration dedicated to healing the harm Trump has caused and committed to 100 percent clean and renewable electricity by 2035.”

    “This language doesn’t just block people with fossil fuel connections from the transition team, it sets a clear precedent that they should have no place in a future Biden Administration. It’s a promising sign that Biden is preparing to take a more aggressive stance when it comes to the fossil fuel companies that are causing the climate crisis,” said Jamie Henn, director of Fossil Free Media. 

    “A fossil-free transition team is a bare minimum for the distance a Biden administration must keep the cheerleaders of continued fossil fuel use,” said Mitch Jones, Policy Director at Food & Water Action. “The Biden campaign should commit now to excluding fossil fuel champions from any role in a Biden administration. We look forward to working with the Biden transition team and with a Biden administration to assure that they are staffed with climate champions committed to handing on a habitable planet to future generations.”

    “Rejecting fossil fuel influence is a smart move for the Biden-Harris campaign. Voters are hungry to elect a climate champion. Joe Biden is running on the most ambitious climate platform in history, but it won’t mean much if his transition team is stacked with oil and gas insiders. Biden would do well to distance himself from the failed approach of the Trump administration, which is teeming with corporate lobbyists and fossil fuel cronies. While aiming to reject fossil fuel influence from his transition team is a strong start, this is not the end of the road. We urge Biden to commit to banning all fossil fuel executives and lobbyists from his cabinet and administration. Personnel is policy, and we need experts in the White House who put climate and environmental justice ahead of corporate profits,” said Charlie Jiang, Climate Campaigner at Greenpeace USA.

    “Sunrise Movement is pleased to see the Biden-Harris team recognize that there is no place on their transition team for people tied to fossil fuel executives and believe that they should extend this commitment to their cabinet and administration appointments,” said Lauren Maunus, Legislative Manager at Sunrise Movement. “Young people and people around the country are ready for a new chapter in this country in which we prioritize bold climate action that creates millions of good, union jobs and addresses the wounds of systemic racism and economic inequality. Excluding fossil fuel CEOs and their allies helps make this future possible.”

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  • Biden Urged by 145 Groups to Ban Fossil Fuel Representatives in Campaign & Administration

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    September 1, 2020

    Contact:
    Collin Rees, collin [at] priceofoil.org
    Ryan Schleeter, rschleet [at] greenpeace.org
    Jamie Henn, jamie [at] fossilfree.media

    Biden Urged by 145 Groups to Ban Fossil Fuel Representatives in Campaign & Administration

    Today, 145 groups sent a joint letter urging Joe Biden to ban all fossil fuel executives, lobbyists, and representatives from any advisory or official position on his campaign, transition team, cabinet, and administration. The groups ranged from progressive to youth to faith to environmental justice to climate groups and beyond, and cited new polling from Data for Progress and Fossil Free Media showing strong opposition to fossil fuel representatives serving in a Biden administration.

    Click here to read the joint letter from 145 groups to the Biden campaign.

    “My generation is on the line and Biden will lose significant support from young people, as well as everyone else concerned about climate change, were he to allow any fossil fuel executives, lobbyists, or other representatives onto his campaign or administration in any form. Joe Biden has made a commitment to an aggressive climate plan but no climate action commitment can stand in the face of fossil fuel influence. If Biden truly cares about young people like me, he will ban any fossil fuel representatives from taking part in his team,” said Lana Weidgenant, Deputy Director of Partnerships at Zero Hour.

    “Joe Biden can’t address the climate crisis while listening to people taking checks from the fossil fuel industry like Ernest Moniz, Jason Bordoff, Ken Salazar, and Heather Zichal. Biden must act boldly in collaboration with grassroots leaders fighting for environmental and climate justice — which means ruling out positions for dangerous ‘all-of-the-above’ boosters whose time has passed,” said Collin Rees, Senior Campaigner at Oil Change U.S. 

    “In a time of cascading crises that will require a just and thoughtful recovery, fossil fuel CEOs have shown they care only about their bottom line. Joe Biden put forward an ambitious plan to advance environmental justice, tackle the climate emergency, and build back better from the crises we face. But personnel is policy. Stacking the White House with fossil fuel industry executives and lobbyists is a Trump move, and Biden should know better. Our movements — and millions of voters — demand a president ready to look fossil fuel CEOs in the eye and tell them their reign is over,” said Charlie Jiang, climate campaigner with Greenpeace USA. 

    “Joe Biden is championing the most aggressive climate and environmental justice plan of any presidential candidate ever. But if he hires fossil fuel representatives, he’ll lose any credibility he has built among youth activists, frontline communities, and all of us impacted by the climate crisis. We are under no illusion that the same people who extracted massive wealth by creating this existential problem will have any real interest or ability to solve it,” said Kaniela Ing, Climate Justice Director with People’s Action.

    “A leader cannot stand for the people and not protect the people. This current administration has provided us with the results of said behavior and it has not gone well. The people deserve to be protected over profit. Joe Biden’s recent commitment to an aggressive climate plan that includes environmental justice protects the people. After making such a commitment it is expected that it would be fulfilled. The fossil fuel industry has not only done extreme damage to the environment it has also done extreme damage to black, brown, indigenous, and poor communities. We call on the Biden Administration and the DNC to partner with the desires of the suffering by saying no to having fossil fuel representatives in the Biden Administration,” said Rev. Michael Malcom of the People’s Justice Council.

    “Look no farther than Pennsylvania — its citizens who have suffered the health, safety, and economic harms inflicted by shale gas development and its forests and farmlands that have been irreversibly scarred as shale gas infrastructure has metastasized to every part of the state — to see what happens when government and industry become almost indistinguishable from one another. We know all too well that we will not be free of fossil fuels until our government is. Joe Biden can and must be the first fossil fuel-free president,” said Karen Feridun, co-founder of the Better Path Coalition in Pennsylvania.

    “Biden’s pledge to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies is sure to become an empty promise with fossil fuel emissaries whispering in his ear. We do not need a repeat of Obama’s all-of-the-above strategy which gave us the largest expansion of oil and gas production in U.S. history,” said Karen Grainey, co-director of Center for a Sustainable Coast.

    “For forty years the fossil fuel industry has deceived the American public about the consequences of our dependence on oil and gas. They’ve continued their rapacious march toward disaster while people watch their health and that of their land and water deteriorate. As the earth’s ecosystems begin to unravel due to carbon fueled climate change, this industry’s only concern is to drain the last drop of profit from a dying planet. Allowing fossil fuel representatives to have a seat at the energy policy table will destroy any credibility the Biden administration might claim on energy and environment leadership. We ask that you stand with integrity and embrace the energy of the future,” said Kevin Ionno, chair of the Climate Reality Project of Coastal Georgia.

    “As Elizabeth Warren says, personnel is policy. When Bush and Trump were in charge, putting Big Oil executives at the decision-making table was an active policy choice that cost us dearly. We are now out of time with the climate crisis and need people at the table who will support — not slow walk — Biden’s ambitious climate proposals in his Build Back Better plan,” said Caitlin Lang, spokesperson for the Progressive Change Campaign Committee.

    “We’ve all seen the disastrous policy produced by personnel in the Trump Administration. But it’s important for Joe Biden to remember that the same was true for him and President Obama: If you personnel in charge who have been paid millions by the fossil fuel, nuclear and other polluting industries, you will get bad policy too. Real change takes courage, it takes effort, and it takes a change in staffing — anything else is the definition of madness,” said Liz Butler, Vice President of Organizing and Strategic Alliances at Friends of the Earth Action.

    “We are in a climate emergency. Even as Covid-19 rages on, fossil fuel interests continue to prioritize profits over people, lobbying for financial secrecy, bailouts, and environmental rollbacks. For the sake of our children, and the future of this country and our world, the Biden Administration cannot risk depending on fossil fuel interests to guide decision-making on climate policy,” said Fatema Sumar, Vice President of Global Programs, Oxfam America. 

    “There is an inherent conflict between the interests of our people and the interests of corporate CEOs, and hiring fossil fuel executives to institute an environmental justice plan would be the equivalent of hiring a fox to run the hen house. Communities most hurt most by the climate injustice that fossil fuels have brought down on our world are those same marginalized people who are hurt most by every aspect of our current systems where corporate profits are prioritized over people,” said Mohammed Missouri, Executive Director of Jetpac.

    “This election is a matter of life or death for our generation, and Joe Biden and Kamala Harris can only win if young people show up to vote for them in historic numbers. It’s time for Biden to show young people he will fight for our generation by publicly committing to keep fossil fuel executives, lobbyists, and consultants off his team. We cannot afford this polluting influence in a Biden campaign or administration,” said Lauren Maunus, Legislative Manager, Sunrise Movement. 

    “As fossil-fueled fires burn and super-storms rage, the stakes could not be higher for Vice President Biden to listen to the people — not a handful of fossil fuel executives and frack-happy allies like Ernest Moniz. There’s simply no way to fend off climate catastrophe and end environmental racism without tackling fossil fuels, and there’s no path to phase out fossil fuel extraction so long as Big Oil has the White House on speed dial,” said Brett Hartl, Chief Political Strategist at Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund.

    “Thanks to the environment and climate movement’s decades of tireless work to make decision-makers act boldly, the Biden-Harris campaign has adopted the strongest climate platform of any presidential ticket in history. However, real progress will be measured by relationship to communities most impacted and investments in the same. Fossil fuel representatives have no place at the table except to hand over their dirty profits to rebuild what they have broken. Any accomodation to fossil fuel executives will undermine the promise of our  shared work and throw away our chances of a livable future in the climate decade,” said Tamara Toles O’Laughlin of 350 Action.

    Click here to read the full letter.

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