We are facing a critical inflection point for our planet, and we will not accept less than the climate action we deserve.
That starts with defeating Trump this November and electing Vice President Kamala Harris. But we can’t stop there—this moment demands real, substantive climate action on the scale our communities need. We will be holding our elected officials accountable to that on day one.
Our demands are bold and clear. We’re calling on the next administration to:
1: Declare a Climate Emergency.
Recent climate disasters have caused unfathomable destruction that make it more impossible to ignore: this is an emergency that demands to be treated like one. The president must use their executive power to officially declare a climate emergency and unlock the resources needed to protect our communities — and invest in the real climate solutions we need, not dangerous distractions like carbon capture.
Declaring a Climate Emergency would allow the President to take immediate action to:
- Reinstate the crude oil export ban.
- Send emergency climate aid packages to states.
- Redirect disaster relief funds toward distributed renewable energy construction in frontline communities.
2: End fossil fuel subsidies.
The U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM) plays a significant role in funding our global climate crisis. And the president must put an end to EXIM’s subsidies for fossil fuel projects abroad.
What is EXIM?
- EXIM is an agency that funds projects overseas, and it is part of how the US government funds the fossil fuel industry behind our backs.
- In 2023, EXIM approved $901 million for fossil fuel projects. EXIM also has the power to do good — by redirecting funding to renewable energy projects. But they’ll only do it if the U.S. commits to a bold climate action plan and bans fossil fuel financing at EXIM.
3: Stop Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) mining in the Gulf.
Despite court interference, the Harris administration can take bold actions to protect frontline communities from LNG mining.
- The U.S. Gulf Coast continues to face severe environmental and health impacts from the mining of LNG in their own backyards—often in communities where generations have lived together for centuries. The Harris administration must not allow the Gulf to be treated as a sacrifice zone.
- For more on the harms and dangers of fossil gas and why it is NOT a solution, read 350.org’s post: “Fossil Gas: A Bridge to Nowhere.”
4: Facilitate an arms embargo on the Israeli government.
The U.S. has enabled and armed Israeli government’s genocide in Gaza. We call on Harris, as we have on Biden, to support a ceasefire and arms embargo.
- We know that climate and militarism are inextricably linked in countless ways—the US military is the top-emitting institution in the world, on top of its destructive humanitarian influence. And right now, the US continues to spend many billions of dollars supplying Israel with weapons to enable genocide.
- For more on climate and militarism, read 350.org’s blog on the importance of supporting protests of the US governments’ role in the genocide and rampant militarism and imperialism.
5: Use the Presidential Bully Pulpit to amplify climate injustices.
The president must amplify the urgent issues of unaffordable utilities and toxic energy.
- The connection between the affordability crisis and the climate crisis is an important one, and it is a story told through our monopoly utilities. Yet most people don’t know how it all connects. Shining light on unaffordable and predatory utility practices could create crucial support for the growing utility justice movement.
Without real, substantive actions rooted in climate justice, we’re sure to see even more climate devastation. We know Harris believes the climate science, but we will need to hold her accountable to the action this moment demands—starting with this list. We must fight for that chance.