New York, N.Y. – Monday morning, in advance of President Biden’s Earth Day Leaders Summit on Climate, the clear deadline displayed on the iconic CLIMATE CLOCK in New York’s Union Square is adding a sign of hope for global climate action. The new “Lifeline” will show the percentage of global energy currently supplied from renewable sources — 12.2 percent, and going up, but nowhere near fast enough.
“The science is clear: we are in a climate emergency,” said Laura Berry, CLIMATE CLOCK Research Lead, “With its deadline and new lifeline, the CLIMATE CLOCK makes explicit the speed and scope of action that political leaders must take in order to limit the worst impacts of climate devastation.”
On April 19, 2021, 10 a.m. EST, a press conference will be held underneath the monumental CLIMATE CLOCK in Union Square, featuring youth strikers, climate impacted communities, and climate and environmental justice activists who will travel to Washington, DC to deliver a portable clock to top Biden officials.
New handheld “action” clocks will be unveiled and distributed to youth leaders. Noted youth activist Alexandria Villeseñor will travel from Union Square to DC in a 100 percent electric vehicle, handing off the clock to climate justice activists from 350.org and the Build Back Fossil Free coalition rallying in front of the White House on Wednesday, April 19 at 11 a.m. They will personally deliver a clock to Climate Envoy John Kerry on the eve of President Biden’s Earth Day Climate Summit, along with a petition demanding President Biden and world leaders stop all fossil fuel projects, beginning with the Dakota Access pipeline and Line 3.
Activists are calling for more ambitious targets from President Biden and world leaders at the Summit ahead of the UN Climate conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland later this year. Demands include keeping fossil fuels in the ground, ending corporate subsidies, stopping all new fossil fuel projects and prioritizing real solutions that work for communities not corporations. Pan African Union Goodwill Ambassador Jerome Ringo will also be taking climate clocks to several heads of state in Africa.
“We must do what the science demands,” said Thanu Yakupitiyage, 350’s US Communications Director, “Biden and world leaders must drastically increase emissions targets to limit global warming to 1.5 degree Celsius. To do that, they must keep fossil fuels in the ground, including by stopping all new fossil fuel projects. This is the only path to meaningful climate action. Our communities are already living through the climate crisis, and we are reaching the point of no return.”
Simultaneously, the Glasgow City Council, 350.org and UK youth climate activists, will light-project a CLIMATE CLOCK onto Glasgow’s landmark Tolbooth Steeple. It will run continuously every night for the six months from Earth Day until the COP26 begins, turning the eyes of the world to the upcoming UN Summit in November.
“We’ll never run out of time to fight back against climate disruption — but we have less than seven years until we pass a critical threshold to limit the worst impacts of climate devastation and keep global warming below 1.5ºC,” said Berry. “From New York to Glasgow, we need real solutions to reach zero emissions as quickly as possible and to build the fossil fuel free, renewable energy future that climate justice demands.”
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Common Dreams | Radio Free (2021-04-19T13:25:07+00:00) At NYC “Climate Clock” Youth and Climate Activists Send Global Message to Biden in Advance of Earth Day: #Actintime!. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2021/04/19/at-nyc-climate-clock-youth-and-climate-activists-send-global-message-to-biden-in-advance-of-earth-day-actintime/
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