The impacts of global warming are already being felt. If we don’t act now, the climate crisis will become much worse, dramatically impacting people around the world and causing irreversible damage to the environment. Friends of the Earth believes we can and must solve this crisis and do so in an equitable and responsible way, but the path ahead is not easy. It will require bold leadership and a broad transformation of our society.
Friends of the Earth is working for aggressive legislation in the United States that quickly reduces -- and eventually ends -- our country's emissions of heat-trapping gasses. We are also participating in Friends of the Earth International's efforts to bring the international community together behind a strong global climate agreement, without which this problem cannot be solved.
Read the latest news and updates from our Global Warming campaign:
Following the African negotiators' bold move yesterday to boycott further negotiations until rich countries agree to live up to their responsibilities on emissions reductions, a compromise was struck on continued discussions under the Kyoto Protocol negotiating track.
African negotiators at the UN climate talks in Barcelona refused to continue formal discussions about all other issues until wealthy countries live up to their legal and moral responsibility to commit to deep emissions reductions. Developing countries have been driven to this action because rich countries have ground negotiations to a halt by failing to agree to new targets under the Kyoto Protocol.
No, developed countries didn’t in fact finally live up to their historical responsibility by committing to deep emissions cuts or significant financing to help developing countries deal with the impacts of climate change. However, yours truly was, for the very first time in her life, upgraded to business class for the transatlantic flight to Barcelona! I can’t imagine a better way to have started the trip and I am hoping that the official start of the talks tomorrow will be similarly hopeful.
Check out our new video, "Just the Energy Bill," about the trials of an optimistic energy bill who loses his teeth at the hands of greedy lobbyists.
When the House of Representatives started working on a clean energy bill last winter, we were optimistic that the bill would be strong. After all, we were coming off an election in which a large majority of the electorate voted for bold change, and supported the candidate who spoke out strongly about the need for clean energy. Congress had a chance to pass a bill that would keep the climate stable, provide us with a secure energy future, and create millions of new jobs that could revitalize our economy.
We are writing from Bangkok, where the latest round of international climate negotiations -- intended to result in agreement by all countries to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions -- is coming to an end.
We wish we had better news to share, but unfortunately, little progress has been made over the last two weeks. The reason? The United States is standing in the way.
Verizon Wireless has responded to pressure from current and potential customers who expressed outrage at its sponsorship of a pro-coal, anti-environment rally on Labor Day. In a letter to the Center for Biological Diversity, Verizon Wireless's CEO, Lowell McAdam, asserted that his company's sponsorship of the rally "was not a statement of our position on any public policy issue, and it certainly was not an expression of support for mountaintop removal coal mining or in opposition to climate legislation."
International climate change negotiations are underway in Bangkok, Thailand from September 28 - October 9 and two intrepid members of our international team at Friends of the Earth, Karen Orenstein and Kate Horner, are there to participate in and monitor the talks. They are producing this video blog to keep you all informed about the day-to-day developments.
The Humane Society of the United States, in conjunction with Friends of the Earth and other organizations, petitioned EPA to regulate global warming pollution and other air pollution from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), or factory farms.
