Friends of the Earth Action endorses bold DNC Council recommendations on climate crisis

WASHINGTON – Friends of the Earth Action endorsed the DNC’s Council on the Environment and Climate Crisis’ Democratic Party Platform recommendations today. The recommendations were released after a three-month consultative process with diverse groups nationwide.

The policies outlined in the progressive platform provide a blueprint for a just transition away from fossil fuels and industrial agriculture centered on environmental and worker justice for frontline black, brown and indigenous communities who are disproportionately harmed by environmental degradation and the climate crisis. The Council, backed by an advisory panel that included two Friends of the Earth Action staff, specifically urges Vice President Biden and the DNC to take bolder and more ambitious action to address our climate emergency and advance social and environmental justice.

“Friends of the Earth Action strongly urges the Democratic Party and the Biden Campaign to adopt these recommendations,” said Karen Orenstein, climate and energy director with Friends of the Earth Action. “The people of the world demand an approach from the United States rooted in fairness, justice, compassion, and science. The Platform recommendations provide a strong pivot in that direction.”

“Agriculture is often left out off of the climate policy table and we are excited to see the DNC Council propose robust recommendations for transforming our nation’s heavily polluting industrial agriculture system,” said Kari Hamerschlag, food and agriculture deputy director with Friends of the Earth Action.  “We cannot solve our climate crisis without a dramatic shift away from subsidies for energy intensive monoculture and factory farms and towards diversified, regenerative, organic farming practices.”

Key recommendations from the Council include:

  • Ensuring that the U.S. shifts to 100% renewable energy in electricity, transportation, and buildings by 2030;
  • Permanently banning fracking nationwide and rescinding the Trump Administration’s rollbacks of environmental regulations;
  • Establishing a Just Transition Task Force to support the communities that are most heavily affected by the climate crisis and ensure “massive investments” in clean infrastructure projects to create millions of jobs.
  • Transitioning away from carbon-intensive, industrial animal agriculture and monoculture production, starting with a moratorium on new Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) and large-scale food and agriculture mergers.
  • Shifting subsidies and agricultural programs that primarily benefit large-scale, destructive farming practices to support for regenerative, sustainable practices, including organic, low- carbon, diversified, and humanely raised foods.
  • Ending federal funding for fossil fuel projects at home and overseas

 

Contact: Erin Jensen, (202) 222-0722, ejensen@foe.org