On September 23, 2019 Greta Thumberg, age 16, bravely stood before world leaders at the United Nations
"This is all wrong. I shouldn't be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. For more than 30 years, the science has been crystal clear; political and needed solutions are still nowhere in sight. How dare you!"
International Treaties, Agreements, Aspirations:
The Paris Accord Since the Paris Agreement was signed, just six US banks have loaned more than $1 trillionto the fossil fuel industry. https://stopthemoneypipeline.com/glasgow/Our
COP 26:The Glasgow 2021 meeting. COP 27: Egypt Nov. 2022. COP 28,30 November until 12 December 2023., Dubai
IPCC Reports on state of the climate: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change/ UN 2021: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_SPM.pdf Notably, the latest reportby the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) more clearly attributes extreme weather events to humans’ influence on the climate, pointing out that fossil fuels have caused 86% of carbon-dioxide emissions in the past decade.
2023:The Synthesis Report was released on 20 March 2023. The IPCC is now in its sixth assessment cycle, in which the IPCC is producing the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) with contributions by its three Working Groups and a Synthesis Report, three Special Reports, and a refinement to its latest Methodology Report.
A Non Fossil Fuel Proliferation Treaty would be based on the three pillars of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. non-proliferation. feasible phaseout. enable a just transition away from fossil fuels through a process of international cooperation The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative is a civil society campaign to create a treaty to stop fossil fuel exploration and expansion and phase-out existing production in line with the targets of the Paris Climate Agreement, while supporting a just transition to renewable energy.
The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative is a civil society campaign to create a treaty to stop fossil fuel exploration and expansion and phase-out existing production in line with the targets of the Paris Climate Agreement, while supporting a just transition to renewable energy
Biden Administration has paused all new licenses for LNG (Liquified Natural Gas export terminals). January 2024
The Green New Deal on a National Level
Introduced in House (04/20/2021)by Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. This resolution calls for the creation of a Green New Deal with the goals of
achieving greenhouse gas and toxic emissions reductions needed to stay under 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming;
establishing millions of high-wage union jobs and ensuring economic security for all;
investing in infrastructure and industry;
securing clean air and water, climate and community resiliency, healthy food, access to nature, and a sustainable environment for all; and
promoting justice and equality.
The resolution calls for accomplishment of these goals through a 10-year national mobilization effort. The resolution also enumerates the goals and projects of the mobilization effort, including
building smart power grids (i.e., power grids that enable customers to reduce their power use during peak demand periods);
upgrading all existing buildings and constructing new buildings to achieve maximum energy and water efficiency;
removing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation and agricultural sectors;
cleaning up existing hazardous waste and abandoned sites;
ensuring businesspersons are free from unfair competition; and
providing higher education, high-quality health care, and affordable, safe, and adequate housing to all.
The High School Initiative for a Green New Deal https://www.commondreams.org/news/green-new-deal-for-schools US High Schoolers Launch Green New Deal for 'Our Schools and Our Futures'"Public schools belong to us, and we know we deserve better," said a Sunrise Movement organizer and the youngest school board member in Idaho. Sept 25, 2023 Common Dreams.org1In the face of right-wing attacks on public schools—including climate education—more than 50 high schools nationwide launched the Green New Deals for Schools campaign Monday.
"The Green Amendment was passed into law in Nov. 2021 by the voters of NYS.
The United Nations Human Rights Council recognizes “the human right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment.” In the general election on November 2, 2021 New Yorkers followed the UN’s lead and voted “yes” on Ballot Proposal 2, the Environmental Rights Amendment, The Green Amendment. The proposal amends the New York state constitution by adding the right of each person to clean air, clean water, and a healthful environment.
The passage of the Green Amendment, like the action taken by the UN’s Human Rights Council, will be historic for New York. It will reverse the longstanding tradition of government agencies and departments approving corporate projects over the health and safety of citizens: regardless of the color of skin, ZIP code, or how much money a person makes they have the right to clean air and clean water and a healthful environment. It puts these rights in front of every decision the government makes. For example, before a legislative body passes a law or a government agency issues a permit or provides a grant, such body or agency will have to consider if doing so would violate a person’s right to clean air or water. Decision-makers would be obligated to minimize pollution, degradation, and environmental harms. And if they fail to protect these environmental rights, this amendment could be used by the community, government, and business interests to protect themselves. In states where environmental rights are in place, the public benefits from enhanced legal standing in enforcement of environmental laws and consideration of public trust values.
This amendment was approved by the voters in November 2021; Ideally there will be no more Hoosick Falls, where residents have used water contaminated for decades with perfluorooctanoic acid or PFOA's, a toxic chemical linked to a plastics plant. No longer will public housing complexes, such as Albany’s Ezra Prentice Homes, be built in an industrial-zoned area of a city. No longer will landfills, such as the S.A. Dunn landfill in Rensselaer, be allowed to be built and continuously operated next to a school. No longer will incinerators such as Norlite be allowed to operate within city limits.
The Green Amendment, though short on words, is a powerful document. It affirms the UN Human Rights Council’s recognition that the pollution of air, land and water, and the unsound management of chemicals and waste, interfere with the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment."
Dominick Calsolaro of Albany is a South End resident and former Common Council member.
Actions by governments, individuals
The Montreal Protocol of 2016- engage global industry
Rights of Nature movement (article in progress) Our Children's Trust: Montana Decision summer 2023 As of winter 2024 Stonewalling by DOJ on hearing the case:https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/press-releases