Climate Leadership Now rally Nov. 18th, 2008

Climate leaders are seizing this critical opportunity to work alongside President-elect Obama and the new Congress to make sure climate is an urgent priority in the first 100 days of the next administration. We fully support our leaders as they work to re-engage with the world, re-power America and re-build our economy. We welcome the change our new leaders represent and call on President-elect Obama to act on his commitment to climate action by attending the crucial United Nations Climate Conference in Poland in December.

Grassroots climate voters are seizing this critical opportunity to work alongside the new President and Congress to make sure climate is an urgent priority in the first 100 days of the next administration.

We Are Ready to Re-engage With the World: This historic election set the stage for the renewal of United States leadership in a world that desperately needs to protect the planet from rapid climate change. By moving the world towards a solution to global warming, we will be fulfilling our obligation to be good stewards of the environment as well as looking out for the generations to come. President-elect Obama is hugely popular abroad and he has the support of the overwhelming majority of Americans who believe that it’s up to us to lead other countries in solving global warming. The upcoming UN Climate Conference in Poland is the perfect opportunity for the President-elect to act on his commitment to climate action. We encourage him to seize this opportunity to re-engage with the world and attend the critical UN Climate Conference.
 
We Can Re-Power America: By enhancing energy efficiency and switching to renewable energy, we can break our dangerous addiction to fossil fuels like coal and oil. By switching to clean energy, we simultaneously move toward solutions to the climate crisis and the economic crisis — and create millions of new jobs when we need them most. The technology and policy solutions for taking action on climate change already exist, what was lacking before this historic election was the political will. Young people have played a major role in propelling the President-elect to victory. A record number of young people voted for the climate in this election and they will play an essential role in re-powering our country.

It’s Time to Re-Build America: A large and rapid investment in clean energy and energy efficiency is the best way to revive our economy in a quick and sustainable way. We can put millions of people to work replacing outdated energy technologies with 21st-century technologies that use fuel that is free forever: the sun, the wind and the natural heat of the earth. This new green economy will be strong enough to lift people out of poverty. We must now ensure that low income and minority youth have access to the coming wave of “green-collar” jobs – things like solar-panel installation, retrofitting buildings and materials recycling. President-elect Obama has made a green economy a pivotal part of his message, now it is up to us to make sure he knows there is tremendous support for investing in a clean energy economy.

No matter how committed our new government is to taking action, nothing will happen without your involvement. Key decisions are being made before the inauguration and we want to make sure our call for climate action is heard loud and clear.

Hundreds will come together on Capitol Hill November 18th as part of the first climate event to focus on President-elect Obama. 

Featured Speakers:

Congressman Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland
Bill McKibben, founder, 350.org, noted author and climate activist
Mike Tidwell, executive director, Chesapeake Climate Action Network
Gillian Caldwell, campaign director, 1Sky
Philip O'Neal, Co-founder, Green DMV
Ali Adler, student, University of MD at College Park
Meena Raman, Chair, Friends of the Earth International
Adam Taylor, Senior Political Director, Sojourners
Nia Robinson, Director, Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative