“Ethical Markets added our signature to this Letter to President Biden to invoke the Defense Production Act, to speed the transition from fossil fuels to the cleaner, greener, knowledge-richer, inclusive Solar Age.
Please join us with your groups’ signatures!
~Hazel Henderson, Editor“
Thank you for being a part of the more than 200 climate, Indigenous, social justice, religious, and progressive groups that sent a letter to the White House urging President Biden to invoke the Defense Production Act (DPA) in order to ramp up the deployment of renewable energy to transition the world off the fossil fuels that are leading to global instability.
Amplification Toolkit:
DPA and Ukraine Letter to Biden
Click here to read the letter and see the full list of organizational signers.
Overview: In solidarity with the people of Ukraine, more than 200 groups are writing to President Biden thanking him for halting oil imports from Russia and urging the administration to continue to resist bad faith attempts to lock in future fossil fuel exploitation and dependence by invoking the Defense Production Act (DPA) to ramp up the deployment of renewable energy to transition the world off fossil fuels.
The impacts of the humanitarian tragedy in Ukraine are continuing to unfold and being felt not just in Europe where electricity, heating, and food costs are set to soar, but here in the U.S. and around the world as the price of oil and gas skyrockets.
Amidst the backdrop of the latest dire Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, the need to transition off of fossil fuels has never been more urgent. President Biden can deploy his executive powers to weaken the geopolitical power of fossil fuels, address the climate emergency, and prevent further mass suffering.
Many of the groups leading today’s letter are a part of the Build Back Fossil Free campaign, a growing movement of over 1100 groups organizing for President Biden to use his executive authority to speed the end the era of fossil fuel production, protect communities from the climate emergency, and repair the harm caused by fossil fuels.
Talking Points / Core Message:
- At 60% of Russia’s exports and 40% percent of Russia’s federal budget, fossil fuels are funding the conflict in Ukraine, creating devastation, and contributing to the loss of civilian lives from both Russia and Ukraine.
- Until the world moves off of fossil fuels, we will continue to lose innocent lives to war and climate chaos while being beholden to bad actors like Vladimir Putin. It is essential that we provide an alternate vision and plan of action for the Biden administration beyond the oil industry’s plan to drill more and build additional export infrastructure.
- The American oil industry has a long, documented history of working extremely closely with Putin and state-run Russian oil companies. Now, the industry is trying to leverage the Ukraine crisis as an excuse to push for more drilling domestically while raising gas prices and protecting their profits
- We thank President Biden for his decision to halt oil imports from Russia and demand that the President use his broad authority under existing law to invoke the Defense Production Act (DPA) to ramp up the deployment of renewable energy to transition the world off fossil fuels.
Sample Tweets:
These posts can also be used on Facebook/Instagram by replacing @POTUS with @JoeBiden
- BREAKING: 200+ ? the latest ban on Russian fossil fuel imports and call on @POTUS to invoke the Defense Production Act to prevent further suffering, address the climate emergency, and transition the world off of fossil fuels. #BuildBackFossilFree https://bit.ly/3sXBiFn
- Big Oil and Putin are war profiteers.?? @POTUS should put people and the planet over profits and invoke the DPA to support the transition to a renewable and just economy. #PeoplevsFossilFuels https://bit.ly/3sXBiFn
- Russian oil & gas is funding the invasion of Ukraine, killing innocent people, and American companies are lining their pockets with spiking prices. @POTUS should enact the DPA to address this crisis and transition the world off of fossil fuels. #PeoplevsFossilFuels https://bit.ly/3sXBiFn
- #BuildBackFossilFree groups are calling on @POTUS to:
- Utilize the Defense Production Act for renewable energy
- Fight the #ClimateEmergency
- Combat Putin’s economic stronghold
- Create good quality union jobs
- @POTUS You have a historic opportunity to produce alternatives to fossil fuels, fight the climate emergency, combat Putin’s stranglehold on the world’s energy economy, and support the transition to a renewable and just economy. #BuildBackFossilFree https://bit.ly/3sXBiFn
- @POTUS The time has never been more important to build a future without reliance on fossil fuels causing death in destruction across the world. We urge you to use the DPA to ramp up our renewable energy production and phase out fossil fuels. #BuildBackFossilFree https://bit.ly/3sXBiFn
- @POTUS We cannot let Big Oil leverage war to increase profits and raise gas prices for working people. We need to use this moment to transition off fossil fuels for good. You can use your executive power to jump start our renewable energy future. #BuildBackFossilFree https://bit.ly/3sXBiFn
Hashtags:
- #BuildBackFossilFree
- #ClimateEmergency
- #KeepItInTheGround
- #BidenKeepYourPromise
- #PeoplevsFossilFuels
- #StandWithUkraine