Yesterday, ahead of Earth Day and the Leaders Summit on Climate and in coordination with the #BuildBackFossilFree coalition, the Action for the Climate Emergency delivered over 47,000 petition signatures to President Biden demanding that he take executive action to build back fossil free. Collectively, the #BuildBackFossilFree coalition delivered about 300,000 petition signatures yesterday! 

Since December 2020, ACE has joined dozens of groups representing millions of people across the country fighting for climate, racial, and economic justice as part of the #BuildBackFossilFree coalition – working together to ensure Biden becomes the climate president he promised to be. 

We deserve a world beyond fossil fuels: a world in which workers’ rights, community health, and our shared climate come before corporate profits. The #BuildBackFossilFree coalition is advocating for these 25 executive actions that the Biden Administration can take to build a more just and equitable fossil free future: Biden’s Executive Action Blueprint.

ACE garnered support for both a #BuildBackFossilFree petition and a youth written letter in support of the #BuildBackFossilFree demands. Read the full text of the petition and the youth letter below – and join us in taking action to demand that President Biden takes leadership to build a fossil free future!

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Petition: President Biden, Build Back Fossil Free

Dear President Biden,

The American people gave you the mandate to be bold in the pursuit of climate, racial, and economic justice. When you pursue policies that save lives, protect our health, and invest in our communities, we will continue to back you up.

We are calling on you to:

1. Protect and invest in the Black, Indigenous, Brown, and working-class communities that have borne the brunt of fossil fuel pollution and climate disaster.
2. End the era of fossil fuel production, reject all fossil fuel projects, and eliminate giveaways to oil, gas, and coal corporations
3. Launch a national climate mobilization to Build Back Fossil Free, delivering jobs, justice, and opportunity for all.

We deserve a world beyond fossil fuels: a world in which workers’ rights, community health, and our shared climate come before corporate profits. 

Sincerely,
Action for the Climate Emergency and 24,122 petition signers

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Youth Letter: President Biden, Build A Fossil-Free Future

Dear President Biden,

We, young people from across the country, understand that we are facing a climate crisis and we are asking you to take bold action to help us end it. Climate change is not something that will only affect us in the far future, it is something that is affecting us right now. You can see it in the increasingly destructive hurricanes, prolonged droughts, unprecedented wildfires, in the BIPOC and low-income communities that face polluted air and dirty water, and the millions of people that have been made refugees by the changing climate. We need leadership that isn’t afraid to tackle this crisis head on.

We are the ones most affected by this crisis, and we will do anything we can to be the generation to end it. We’ve been fighting climate change for years. We have been organizing school strikes, planning boycotts, protesting, speaking out, and demanding action. Our communities are stuck living near coal plants and busy highways, making us more susceptible to asthma. Our public and Indigenous lands have been sold to the highest bidder and devastated by fossil fuel extraction. Our families and friends have had to move because of wildfires and hurricanes. Our loved ones have become our ancestors at the hands of COVID-19, dirty air, and dirty water. 

Still, many leaders and those in power tell us to wait. They tell us that change is expensive, that fighting for it is too hard, too divisive, or that it’ll solve itself on its own. 

We are tired of waiting, watching, and running out of time. Our future and our lives are at stake, and we have already endured so much. We are scared for our future and exhausted by this fight, but we will never back down. Our voices matter. Our voices helped to put you in power. We will fight to end climate change day in and day out. Will you join us? We know that ending climate change will be tough, but it is worth the fight, it is worth the risk, it is worth the money. WE are worth the fight. WE are worth the risk. WE are worth the money. 

We are reimagining our future, turning it into a reality with every action we take. We want a future where it does not hurt to breathe, where we have access to clean water, where we have a safe and stable climate, where turning on the lights and powering our homes does not mean we are damaging our planet. That future is fossil-free. 

We are all signing on to the demands of the Build Back Fossil Free campaign, and urge you to:

1. Protect and invest in the Black, Indigenous, Brown, and working-class communities that have borne the brunt of fossil fuel pollution and climate disaster.

2. End the era of fossil fuel production, reject fossil fuel projects, and eliminate giveaways to oil, gas, and coal corporations.

3. Launch a national climate mobilization to Build Back Fossil Free, delivering jobs, justice, and opportunity for all.

Here’s the full list of 25 executive actions that you can take to end the era of fossil fuel production, protect communities reeling from the climate and COVID-19 crises, and build back fossil free: buildbackfossilfree.org/biden-executive-action-blueprint/

Climate change is making so many issues we face in this country worse, especially for those of us from BIPOC and low-income communities. We voted in 2020 with climate justice in mind. We urge you to fulfill your promises to end the era of fossil fuels and build a future with us that is fossil-free. 

Sincerely,

11,442 Action for the Climate Emergency youth action network members and youth allies

Organizational Supporters:

Action for the Climate Emergency (ACE)

350 Butte County

350 Colorado

350 Conejo / San Fernando Valley

350 Eugene

350 Everett, WA

350 Pensacola

350 Santa Barbara

350 Tacoma

350Hawaii

Can You Hear Us?

Center for Biological Diversity

Citizen Action of Wisconsin

ClimateMama

Communitopia

Cream City Conservation

Department of Education of NYC

Extinction Rebellion SF Bay Area

Fossil Free Environment

FracTracker Alliance

Future Coalition

GenCLEO

GreenFaith

International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute

MS 88 Equity Team, NYC Department of Education

National Network for Immigrant & Refugee Rights

Oil Change International

Oil Change U.S.

Our Climate Education Fund

SEE-LA (Social Eco Education-LA)

Stand.earth

Start:Empowerment

Sunflower Alliance

Texas Campaign for the Environment

The Climate Museum

Waterspirit

Young Entertainment Activists

Youth Environmental Activists (YEA!), a program of Climate Generation

Youth Environmental Activists! Network

Zero Hour

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