FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 7, 2019
CONTACT:
David Turnbull, david [at] priceofoil.org
Collin Rees, collin [at] priceofoil.org
Oil Change USA response to Green New Deal resolutions
In response to the Green New Deal resolutions introduced today by Senator Ed Markey and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, David Turnbull, Strategic Communications Director with Oil Change USA, released the following statement:
“We are encouraged that these resolutions include bold and important proposals that start to reflect the scope and scale of actions that the climate crisis requires. Representative Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Markey are key allies in the climate fight, and we are excited to use the resolutions as starting points in our shared goal of sparking truly transformational climate leadership and action. Despite the resolutions lacking explicit language addressing fossil fuel extraction, the sponsors have expressed an intention for a wind-down of fossil fuel production to be included as a part of a Green New Deal, and we look forward to working with them to actualize that imperative.
“We already have an international climate agreement that fails to include the words ‘fossil fuels’; we can’t afford a Green New Deal that does the same. The science is clear: If the oil, gas, and coal in currently operating wells and mines is dug up and burned, we will blow well past our climate goals. As recent research has shown, the U.S. is on the cusp of an unprecedented surge in oil and gas production at precisely the time we need to be marshaling all of our resources in the opposite direction. It’s critical that we stand with frontline and Indigenous communities fighting fossil fuel infrastructure, and a Green New Deal must not leave these communities behind.
“Today’s resolutions mark the start of a new conversation on climate action in the United States that can finally begin, thanks to the bold leadership shown by Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Markey, and we look forward to engaging fully to ensure a managed decline of fossil fuel production is a key part of that discussion.”
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Note for Editors:
- For more on the climate impacts of expanding oil and gas development in the United States, see the recent report from Oil Change International: http://priceofoil.org/2019/01/16/report-drilling-towards-disaster/