Principles for Global Warming Responses

The decisions we make now about how aggressively to combat global warming will impact the future of every species and every person on this planet. Global warming threatens the world with more intense storms, increased flooding and droughts, decreased food production, water scarcity, and higher rates of disease.  If we do not take significant steps to reduce greenhouse gas pollution now, the climate crisis will cause widespread and irreversible damage.  Friends of the Earth believes that humans still have time time to solve this crisis, and that that we must do so -- 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.

For an adequate response to the global warming crisis, climate responses should adhere to the following principles:

Climate responses should be transformational.

• Global warming is a symptom of the larger problem of the overconsumption of the world’s resources. Climate responses must contribute to a greater effort to bring human civilization back into equilibrium with our natural world. 
• The latest science tells us that the threat posed by the climate emergency is so dire, and the emissions reductions needed to prevent widespread catastrophe so substantial, that our society must change in sweeping, fundamental ways.  The climate crisis cannot be solved with moderate change and incremental progress.
• The United States must be a leader in the international community, as well as at home, if runaway global warming is to be avoided. For a global transformation to occur, many countries will need support in making the transition to truly clean economies.
• Politics as usual are inadequate to the task at hand.  Bold leadership and action is needed from everyone, including elected officials, policymakers, businesses, community leaders, civil society, and citizens.
• This crisis is also a source of opportunity. Building a sustainable economy and infrastructure will require substantial investments that create millions of green jobs and improve human health and our quality of life.

• In accordance with the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" that has been agreed to in international treaties, the United States must immediately take on its fair share of global emissions reductions, based on historic emissions and ability to act.
• The United States must support developing countries in reducing emissions and protecting people from climate impacts, as developing countries will be the hardest hit by climate change but are the least responsible and the least able to cope.
• We must also protect people in the United States from climate impacts, and also help to build an inclusive green economy -- providing pathways to prosperity and expanding opportunity for America’s workers and communities -- and should ensure that corporate polluters do not make low- and moderate-income people pay for the transition to clean energy."

• The climate crisis will not be solved with a single policy mechanism; every segment of government and society must take action.
• Climate policies must be designed and implemented to educate and empower an informed citizenry to take action.
• Climate policies will need to be effective far into the future and as such, they must have a stable foundational structure that allows for adapting to the latest science, while being capable of withstanding economic and political pressures.
• Climate policies and mechanisms should be structured in a way that is transparent, accountable, and equitable.
• The polluters that benefited from creating global warming pollution must take responsibility and be forced to pay for our transition to a pollution-free future.