The March to End Fossil Fuels has asked Pres. Joe Biden to stop all federal approvals for new fossil fuel projects, phase out production of fossil fuels on public lands and waters, and declare a climate emergency.
"We are coming together during Climate Week to show the Biden Administration and Sen. Joe Manchin that we can't afford one more second of fossil fuels and stop greenlighting pipelines like the Mountain Valley Pipeline. These pervasive pipelines are exposing humans, animals, and the natural world to toxic chemicals in fossil fuels, damaging critical cultural sites in my ancestral homelands, and current ongoing intimidation in my communities,” said Dr. Crystal Cavalier-Keck, CEO/Co-Founder of 7 Directions of Service, Occaneechi Band of Saponi Nation.
Over 700 organizations, led by march organizers at the Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Popular Democracy, Climate Organizing Hub, Food & Water Watch, Fridays For Future USA & NYC, Earthworks, Greenfaith, Indigenous Environmental Network, New York Communities for Change, Oil Change International and Oil & Gas Action Network, supported today’s mass action.
In addition, over 100 federal elected leaders, actors, and renowned climate activists lent their support to the march. Additionally, 400 scientists and nearly 100 local elected officials in New York, Hawaii, and across the country sent letters to Biden asking him to end fossil fuel expansion and declare a climate emergency.
“When I march through the streets of New York City, I'm marching for more than just the devastated communities in Southwest Louisiana. I'm marching in solidarity with every community that has been ripped apart by environmental degradation, by climate chaos, by corporate malfeasance, and by governmental inaction," aid James Hiatt, Founder and Executive Director, For a Better Bayou.
The New York March is part of over 600 actions taking place across the world in the Global Fight to End Fossil Fuels. Already, over 500,000 people have joined demonstrations urging world leaders to phase out fossil fuels, including actions in Germany, Kenya, Bangladesh, Peru, the North Pole, and Antarctica.
On Wednesday, Sept. 20, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres will host the Climate Ambition Summit in New York City. In an unprecedented move, Guterres is setting a standard for attending countries to present fossil fuel phaseout plans and commit to no new oil, gas, and coal. The White House said Biden does not plan to attend the Climate Ambition Summit.
March organizers and global activists
met with U.N. Assistant Secretary-General Selwin Hart to express support for the summit’s Ambition Agenda. Momentum to end fossil fuels continues to build across the United States. On Saturday, Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced that California
filed a groundbreaking lawsuit against major oil companies. California is the largest U.S. entity to file such a case.
“Texas is the number 1 state for drilling and exporting of oil and gas. Texans across the state are harmed every day by the pollution from drilling, transporting, refining and exporting fossil fuels. To end fossil fuels and achieve climate justice, the injustices in Texas needs to be righted,” said Robin Schneider Executive Director, Texas Campaign for the Environment.
The March to End Fossil Fuels and the UN Climate Ambition Summit come on the heels of new reports that show the urgent need to end the use of fossil fuels. The “Planet Wreckers” report from Oil Change International found the United States accounts for more than one-third of planned global oil and gas expansion through 2050.
