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:
A broad coalition of more than 300 faith, human rights, social justice, and environmental groups have composed and sent a letter to U.S. senators calling for energy and climate legislation that is much stronger than the Waxman-Markey bill that passed the House of Representatives June 26. That bill contained massive giveaways to polluting special interests and would fail to ensure a rapid transition to clean energy.
Many bad deals were made to help pass a major climate and energy bill in the House. Some of the most egregious were brokered on behalf of corporate agribusiness by Rep. Collin Peterson (D - Minn.) and his Agriculture Committee.
Now we have to pressure the Senate to fix the House's compromises.
In a recent blog post, Paul Krugman blithely dismisses concerns relating to carbon trading. The Nobel Prize-winning Krugman is one of the sharpest economists out there, and he’s often called attention to market failures, so his opinion is worth considering. Unfortunately, on this issue he dramatically underestimates the potential problems carbon markets can cause – and fails to note that better alternatives exist.
Congressional Leadership rewarded Representative Peterson for throwing a temper tantrum by eviscerating the climate and forest safeguards from the biofuels mandate in order to buy a handful of votes to pass the already flawed Climate Bill in the House. Environmental champions Chairmen Waxman and Markey caved to Peterson when threatened to hold key democratic votes from the climate bill. If the Senate passes something similar and this becomes law, biofuels that produce more global warming pollution than gasoline will be used to fulfill the biofuels mandate. Recap: In order to pass a "climate bill", provisions that help reduce global warming pollution were cut at the behest of corporate agribusiness.
In an era of green living we often overlook one of the simplest ways to fight global warming – critically examining the food we eat. An ideal low-carbon diet consists of plant-based foods that are locally and organically grown. Meat consumption, particularly from animals raised on factory farms, also known as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), is a major contributor to a person’s carbon footprint.
Congressman Pete Stark took a courageous stand in voting against the American Clean Energy Security Act of 2009.
In response to House Appropriations Committee mark-up of the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, ActionAid USA, Center of Concern, Church World Service, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Friends of the Earth US, Gender Action, Jubilee USA Network, and Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns issued the following statement:
We welcome the appropriation of $50 million for two United Nations climate funds—the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) and the Special Climate Change Fund—as a step in the right direction. However, we are alarmed that the amount designated for the United Nations is six times less than what is appropriated for the World Bank’s controversial new Climate Investment Funds. The $50 million is also far less than what developing countries urgently need in order to adapt to the impacts of climate change. Therefore, we urge the Senate Appropriations Committee to appropriate an additional $75 million for the LDCF, in effect shifting the House appropriation out of the Strategic Climate Fund.
Right now, the Waxman-Markey house climate bill is being debated in Congress. We would like to thank those members who took a courageous stand and vowed to vote against this bill. Below we have the statement from Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), who made an impassioned speech about the bill's flaws, including its enormous payouts to polluters.
Congress has a historic opportunity this year to pass legislation that dramatically reduces greenhouse gas pollution and puts us on a path to clean energy. Unfortunately, that opportunity could be squandered this week when a deeply flawed bill comes to the House floor.
The 2010 House Interior Approprations Bill passed with a narrow win for biofuels and a major loss for CAFOs in committee. Overall, the common theme between both the biofuel and CAFO amendments was a broad attack on science. Both amendments may have had little regulatory impact, but still would have prevented the EPA from merely examining and better understanding the broad range and types of emissions different agricultural sectors contribute to global warming.
