Stein Arrives in Paris for Climate Talks, Calls for US to Lead Emergency Action Ending Dependence on Fossil Fuels by 2030
(PARIS) Dr. Jill Stein, 2012 Green Party Presidential nominee, arrived in Paris today as part of a growing Green Party presence at the UN COP21 climate conference. While in Paris Stein will be calling on world leaders to “Act urgently to save humanity from the looming catastrophe of climate change.”
According to Stein, “Climate change is the greatest threat humanity has ever faced. A 0.9 degree global temperature increase is already responsible for monster storms, catastrophic droughts, melting of glaciers, rising sea levels, and spread of tropical diseases. But this is just a taste of what we are in for if warming reaches 2 degrees. Beyond that point, we are in uncharted waters.”
“The nations of the world deserve a solution as big as the crisis bearing down on us — not half measures or politically expedient non-solutions.”
With reference to COP21, Stein noted that “COP has failed in its original intention to fashion a binding science-based international treaty that would keep global warming below 2 degrees. I am sad to say that my own country, the United States, contributed in a fundamental way to undermining this critical effort.”
“We are now seeing a hodge-podge of voluntary pledges that adhere to no clear standards and have no mechanisms for enforcement. Analysts have estimated that even if implemented, these plans will result in an alarming 3.5 degree rise in global temperature. And due to the lack of binding commitments, it is highly unlikely that they will be fully implemented. It is time for the people of the world whose lives are at risk to rise up and say that the risk this poses is simply not acceptable.”
On Tuesday, Dr. Stein will speak alongside China’s chief climate negotiator, the President of Iceland and noted climate advocates at the Belong Forum being held in conjunction with COP21.
Stein is expected to call for a refocusing of US energy policy, ending the Obama Administration’s promotion of hydrofracking, offshore oil production, and fossil fuel subsidies. In contrast, Stein is calling for an emergency “Green New Deal” to create 20 million green jobs and achieve 100% clean renewable energy by 2030.
While in Paris, Dr. Stein will confer with Green Party members of parliament Caroline Lucas of the United Kingdom, Elizabeth May of Canada and Kennedy Graham of New Zealand. She will also meet with key global climate justice organizers and speak at two forums organized by non-government organizations.
“The era of fossil fuels must be brought to an end without delay,” Stein says. “Building a carbon free economy will not only save billions of people from the ravages of climate change, it will deliver enormous health benefits from cleaner air, cleaner water, and healthier food supplies. We know how to do this. We can do this. And we must do this because the consequences of failure are unthinkable.”
Stein is currently seeking the Green Party nomination for President of the United States, and hopes to bring her call for climate action into the 2016 presidential debates.