November 13, 2024 – BAKU, Azerbaijan – Campaigners from U.S. and global climate advocacy organizations addressed Trump’s reelection, its impacts on the COP, and a climate action roadmap at a press conference on Monday. While Trump’s re-election is a blow to climate action, there is still much that the Biden administration and global partners can do to fight for a livable planet. Advocates offered the following remarks:

"Climate diplomacy on a boiling planet doesn’t stop for a climate denier," said Ben Goloff, senior campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute. "Before Trump takes office, Biden officials need to use the next two months to set up a bulwark of protections and secure their climate legacy. Beyond urgently getting IRA money out the door, John Podesta must commit the U.S.’s fair share of global climate finance and announce an ambitious NDC climate target. Meanwhile President Biden has to make good on last year’s agreement to transition away from fossil fuels by rejecting pending mega-polluting projects like the CP2 LNG export terminal and the Dakota Access oil pipeline. He should also act quickly to fill all federal judicial vacancies as a wall of defense to Trump’s rampage of legal attacks."

"Trump’s election represents an existential threat to our planet and all life that depends on it," said Jacob Johns, community-sponsored Indigenous organizer at A Wisdom Keepers Delegation. "We demand global leaders at COP take an uncompromising stand for people, not polluters, and accelerate climate action with Indigenous rights and frontline communities at the forefront. There is no room for hesitation — our collective survival depends on immediate and unwavering commitment."

"Before Trump takes office, President Joe Biden must reject all pending LNG export permits and stop the expansion of fossil fuels," said Jamie Minden, acting executive director at Zero Hour. "Our climate is on the brink of collapse, and it is sheer madness that politicians continue to expand and subsidize deadly fossil fuels. Young people are fighting for our planet because we are facing the worst consequences of the unrelenting greed of these selfish politicians."

"Trump's reelection is a stark reminder that we cannot waste a single day in the fight for climate justice," said Allie Rosenbluth, United States campaign manager at Oil Change International. "President Biden still has critical opportunities to cement his climate legacy and protect communities from deadly fossil fuel expansion. Biden must use his remaining months in office to reject pending fossil fuel permits, support an ambitious climate finance goal of at least $1 trillion of public money at COP29, put forward a bold draft climate target that commits to a just transition off fossil fuels, and commit to ending $41 billion in oil and gas international export finance at the OECD next week. While Trump will soon be in the White House again, he cannot stop the global momentum toward a fossil-free future. The climate movement is stronger and better prepared than we were in 2016, and we will continue fighting at every level — from local communities to international negotiations — to protect our shared future."

"The current quantity and quality of finance ascribed to the African region is inappropriate, insufficient, undignified, and of low quality," said Dean Bhekumuzi Bhebhe, senior just transition and campaigns advisor at Power Shift Africa and campaigns lead at Don’t Gas Africa. "This falls short of a dignified just transition to introduce cleaner energy sources as a basis for energy security and development. Should the Trump administration backtrack on climate finance, the ripple effect would be devastating for Africa, undermining both the ambition and the solidarity required for the NCQG global goal to drive meaningful, outcome-based mobilization of public finance. At COP29, Africa needs leaders who recognize climate finance not as charity, but as a responsibility rooted in historic accountability. We need commitments that align with Article 9 of the Paris Agreement with a strong foundation in debt-free, accessible, and responsive finance."

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.7 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

Source: Center for Biological Diversity