Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Please send a message to President Obama and ask him to end fossil fuel subsidies -- Cash for Coal or Climate?

From ClimateInsider, a member on the ground in Copenhagen:

Some of you may have seen a message that went out from 1Sky today called Cash for Coal or Climate. The summary is, that we need Obama to help finance developing nations to make this deal in Copenhagen work. The message says that this could be the thing that breaks the stalemate here, and we are hearing from people on the inside that that is really the case. The thing is, Obama is not going to do this unless he has some serious public support and cover. If we really want this deal we need to get this message out to all of our channels -- NRDC Action Fund and NRDC are about to pull the trigger on echoing this email to over a quarter of a million people, plus all of our social media spaces.

PLEASE, PLEASE help us give Obama the support he needs to take this action when he gets here.

Here is our language, and 1sky's language, adjust as you need for your voice, but please lets keep the ask simple and consistant.

NRDC (first draft)
Tell President Obama to commit to finance for a Copenhagen Climate Pact!

Leadership from the United States for medium-term investments in adaptation and deforestation reductions could be the game changer that unlocks an international agreement on global warming. This is a moment that calls us to do everything we can to move the world forward on this critical issue. Let's call on Obama to join us -- and lead the way to build a global agreement and make history.

Send this message to President Obama

Dear President Obama:

We are glad that you are going to Copenhagen to help reach an global agreement to tackle the dangers of climate change.  But to reach this agreement the U.S. needs to come with a stronger commitment to help the most vulnerable countries cope with droughts, floods, and other impacts of the changing climate.    

Mr. President, we urge you to lead the way in Copenhagen to mobilize big new investments by the world’s wealthiest nations, and to bring new financing sources to the table to help stem the loss of the tropical forests, to help the world’s poor and vulnerable people survive the impacts of global warming, and to bring them clean energy.

This is a moment that calls us to do everything we can. Let's lead the way to build a global agreement and make history.


1Sky:

I am at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, and the negotiations are faltering -- but you can help make them a success. Here's how:

Outrageously, the U.S. spends more than $10 billion of taxpayer money per year on subsidies to fossil fuel companies. Meanwhile, the climate talks are on the brink of falling apart because developing countries can't afford to green their economies without financial help. This is a big deal here in Copenhagen -- so big that the global climate community has given the U.S. an "award" for undermining progress during the talks.

The solution is obvious: we must stop subsidizing big polluters and use that money to help developing countries transition to a clean energy economy.

Tell President Obama and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to shift subsidies from big polluters to help developing countries green their economies and fight climate change:

http://www.1sky.org/climate-finance

This isn't rocket science. In fact, thanks to Obama, the leaders of the G20 countries committed this fall to phasing out their fossil fuel subsides -- and insiders say Obama has been weighing whether to use that money for climate finance.

But with the oil and coal industry's lobbyists operating on red alert right now, Obama must know there's public support before he will commit to such a move.

Send an message to President Obama and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner now, and send it to everyone you know: End fossil fuel subsidies -- and use the money to lead the world to a strong treaty in Copenhagen:

http://www.1sky.org/climate-finance

Shifting these fossil fuel subsidies to climate finance in developing countries could be the game changer that breaks the climate deadlock and unleashes a clean-energy future. This is a moment that calls us to do everything we can. Let's call on Obama to join us -- and lead the way to build a deal and make history.

With no time to lose,

Gillian Caldwell
Campaign Director, 1Sky

No comments:

Post a Comment