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IPCC Predicts World Will Pass 1.5 Degrees Tipping Point by mid-2030s
Following the release of the new IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report, the EcoAction Committee of the Green Party of the United States called upon Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to dramatically increase funding above his proposed $3.5 trillion budget resolution. The social spending package is expected to be voted upon later this week, after the bipartisan infrastructure package is approved.
Green Party of the United States
www.gp.org
For Immediate Release:
Tuesday, August 10, 2021
Contact:
Michael O’Neil, Communications Manager, [email protected], 202-804-2758
Diana Brown, Co-chair, Media Committee, [email protected], 202-804-2758
Philena Farley, Co-chair, Media Committee, [email protected], 202-804-2758
Mark Dunlea, Co-Chair, EcoAction Committee, [email protected], 518 860-3725
More than 100 climate and community groups recently signed a letter to President Biden and Senator Schumer urging them to support $4.1 trillion, annually for ten years, on an ecosocialist Green New Deal. The Greens’ proposal includes an Economic Bill of Rights and a “just transition” for all working people whose livelihoods depend on the fossil fuel economy. Greens in the United States first began calling for a Green New Deal in 2010.
The IPCC found the climate is changing faster than it previously predicted. The report finds that the Earth now has its highest CO2 level in the air in 2 million years, and is experiencing its fastest rate of sea level rise in 3,000 years. The result will include more frequent and more intense heat waves, more frequent heavy rains and flooding in some areas, more intense droughts in other areas, more frequent wildfires, and oceans that are getting warmer, acidifying, and losing oxygen. Some of these effects are irreversible in our lifetimes, even if emissions were cut to net zero immediately. The IPCC expects global warming to exceed the targeted limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius within two decades.
“Time is running out to save humanity. Unprecedented wildfires, heat waves, drought, flooding and more are erupting everywhere at increasing speed. The upcoming reconciliation package is realistically our nation’s last best chance to make the changes we need to help obtain a better life for ourselves and future generations. The amount of funding provided now must reflect the dire situation we face, not what politicians, fossil fuel companies and wealthy campaign donors feel is reasonable. It is time for the Democrats to show leadership and go all in,” said Mark Dunlea, Co-Chair of the EcoAction Committee. Dunlea noted there is a good chance the Democrats will lose their present, slim Congressional majority after November 2022.
The Greens have been critical of Biden’s lack of regard for the pending climate catastrophe: increasing the number of permits awarded for fossil fuels on federal lands, including $25 billion in fossil fuel subsidies in the infrastructure package, and insufficient measures such as only requiring half of new cars by 2030 to be fossil-free.
Noting both the worsening climate situation highlighted by the IPCC and the looming collapse of the Gulf Stream, Greens called upon President Biden to formally declare a climate emergency and issue a comprehensive set of climate executive orders. Such orders could include:
- dramatically speeding up the transition to 100% clean, renewable energy
- phasing out fossil fuel use within the next decade, starting with an immediate halt to new fossil fuel infrastructure
- banning fracking for natural gas and expansion of oil and gas pipelines
The IPCC now expects the planet to reach the 1.5C global warming tipping point by the mid-2030s, at which time other tipping points, such as loss of Arctic sea ice, larger-scale coral reef die-offs, and thawing of the methane-rich permafrost, become much more likely.
“Extreme weather is accelerating worldwide, as our political leaders continue to dither. We need to invest in what we know works – wind, solar, geothermal, mass transit, battery storage, regenerative agriculture, clean manufacturing, and conservation. We need to mobilize all levels of our society, with social ownership and democratic planning of the power, transportation, and key manufacturing sectors of the economy, in order to implement the steps to end greenhouse gas emissions as rapidly as possible and build our sustainable future. We must ensure that the needs of everyone are met, starting with frontline communities and workers, and communities dependent upon the existing energy industry,” said Howie Hawkins, the 2020 Green Party candidate for President.
“The investments in clean, renewable energy the Greens are calling for are the blueprint for a full employment economy. The Green New Deal boosts the economy while helping everyday people. We must act now if we want to avoid the worst of climate change and figure out how best to provide for everyone’s well-being,” added Ahmed Eltouny, Green Party National Co-Chair.
In addition to the letter sent to the President and Congressional Leaders, the Green Party is coordinating call-ins and other outreach targeting the Senate, particularly Schumer.
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