Local weather Protesters Descend on Podesta Discuss to Demand Biden Admin Halt Fossil Gas Tasks
Protests calling for urgent action to address the climate crisis have surged across the United States. On Thursday, two protesters smeared red and black paint on a display case of artworks at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, urging President Biden to declare a climate emergency. This follows demonstrations earlier this week outside the offices of banking giants Citibank in New York and Wells Fargo in San Francisco. A new study titled Banking on Climate Chaos finds that the world’s largest private banks have lent $5.5 trillion to fossil-fuel projects since the Paris Climate Agreement was passed.
On Tuesday, climate activists interrupted a talk by John Podesta, who heads the White House Office of Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation. They called on the Biden administration to reverse its permit for ConocoPhillips’ Willow project in northern Alaska and to act quickly to end fossil fuel use.
protester: “We have never needed fossil fuels. You have to stop supporting it. You will be complicit in the destruction of Mother Earth and everyone’s future.”
John Podesta: “I appreciate their passion. And we are trying to create a creative transition that goes to zero by 2050.”
protester: “Too late!”
John Podesta: “You have a point of view” —
protester: “That’s too late!”
Unknown: “30 years” –
protester: “That’s too late!”
The protest was organized by Climate Defiance, a new organization that has vowed to disrupt the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, DC this weekend.
