Sending more fossil fuels to Europe and across the globe is not the answer a coalition of 200 national climate action groups wrote in an open letter to the Senate. As the Senate gets ready to debate the European Energy Security and Diversification Act of 2019 (S. 704), which passed the House in March, climate advocates said the legislation is flawed and would further destabilize the world.
S. 704 will make the United States and Europe reliable on fossil fuel by providing “billions of dollars in support for natural gas infrastructure projects, propping up fossil fuel industries and leading to fracking projects in the U.S.,” EcoWatch reported.
“At a time when we should be leading the global mission to rapidly quit fossil fuels, the notion of seeking new and deeper fossil fuel co-dependence between America and Europe is patently absurd,” Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food and Water Watch and organizer of the open letter, said.
Groups such as the Sunrise Movement, 350.org, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and Oil Change U.S. were just a few of the 200 plus groups to sign the open letter. The groups demand the Senate vote against the legislation that bi-partisan politics said will compete with Russia’s influence in the energy sector of Eastern Europe.
“This bill would undermine its own stated cause,” said Collin Rees, senior campaigner at Oil Change U.S., said. “Using fossil fuels for energy diplomacy increases global tensions and decreases our national security by pouring fuel on the fire of the climate crisis. Research clearly shows that existing fossil fuel development – including gas development – contains more carbon than the world can afford to burn.”
Climate science confirms that continuing to develop fossil fuel projects will only add to the climate crisis and instead, countries need to transition to clean, renewable energy.
“Climate science is clear: We must begin an aggressive global transition to clean, renewable energy now,” said Hauter. “For the Senate to promote the opposite would be a clear abdication of moral duty to current and future generations in this country and every country.”
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