FOE Action members bombard delegates before platform vote

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Members of Friends of the Earth Action reached out directly to Democratic Party platform committee members and demanded that they support a series of amendments that would add meaningful climate action to the party platform.  Amendments highlighted by Friends of the Earth Action members were: putting in place a carbon tax, opposing the dangerous pacific trade deal, banning fracking, ending fossil fuel leasing on public lands, and creating a carbon test.

“More than 10,000 Friends of the Earth Action members have emailed delegates making it clear that the Democratic Party platform needs to be strengthened to reflect the urgency of the climate crisis,” said Friends of the Earth Action President Erich Pica. “It is no longer enough for the Democratic Party to play lip service to climate change while refusing to commit to the action necessary. Science needs to be the barometer, not climate denying Republicans.”

Friends of the Earth Action members weighed-in in advance of the next salvo in the battle between surrogates for presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders over the climate ambition in the Democratic platform. At the drafting committee meeting in June, six important climate amendments were defeated by a single vote and thus kept out of the draft platform.  In each case the committee members chosen by former Sec. Clinton voted together against stronger climate amendments.

“This fight will determine if the Democratic Party is going to continue with soft climate denial,” said Pica.

Contact: Erich Pica, (202) 202-0739, [email protected]