Activists urge Biden to act on climate change and fulfill emissions targets

Thousands of activists, indigenous groups, students and others take to the streets of New York for the 'March to End Fossil Fuels' protest on Sept 17, 2023 in New York City. (PHOTO / AFP)

Thousands of protesters from around the world descended on Lower Manhattan this week to noisily demonstrate against climate change, as world leaders met at the United Nations on Wednesday for a one-day climate ambition summit.

The protesters, holding up brightly colored placards, with the words: "Stop Global Warming!" and "Fuels Kill", marched and chanted through the streets of New York calling for an end to the use of fossil fuels.

Alice Hu of New York Communities for Change, a nonprofit organization that tries to stir political change, told CBS News: "Fossil fuels are the number one cause of the climate crisis. With the climate crisis, (there is) more extreme weather, climate disasters, food shortages, droughts, climate migration, climate chaos all over the world."

US President Joe Biden traveled to New York on Tuesday to address the United Nations on Ukraine, but was not scheduled to attend Wednesday's dedicated climate summit.

It comes as activists say the US is not doing enough on Biden's commitment to achieve a net-zero emissions economy by 2050. Experts said the country will carry out one-third of the world's planned drilling for oil and gas up until 2050.

Activists urged Biden to stop approving fossil fuel projects and act swiftly on lessening the use of coal, oil and natural gas, which they attributed to climate change.

'Ambitious goal'

But the White House said that Biden has "set an ambitious US goal of achieving a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035 and net-zero emissions economy by no later than 2050".

The demonstrations, being held during Climate Week, started on Sept 17. The activists are supported by a coalition of 700 global climate organizations.

On Tuesday, at least 20 people were arrested at a climate change protest outside Bank of America in Manhattan, where they blocked the entrance.

The New York Police Department, or NYPD, arrested 11 women and nine men at the demonstration and charged them with civil disobedience.

Protesters targeted the location because they accused the bank of being the third-largest financier of fossil fuels.

A report titled "Banking on Chaos" showed that US banks are among the largest fossil fuel financiers since the Paris Agreement in 2015. Protesters also targeted Citigroup's headquarters in Tribeca, New York.

The Bank of America would not comment on the accusations leveled against them. But the bank said it was committed to achieving "environmental sustainability" by reaching a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in its operations before 2050.

On Monday, amid a "March to End Fossil Fuels", the NYPD arrested 114 people on Wall Street. They were all charged with civil disobedience and later released.

Protesters have called on Biden to declare a climate emergency. But over the past 100 years, the US has contributed more to putting heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than any other country.

Thanu Yakupitiyage, a former communications director of 350 Action, an organization that mobilizes progressive voters and gets climate champions elected, said: "If we continue to drill, if we continue to use fossil fuels, and actually not find a solution out of it, (it will get worse) and we do have the solutions, solar is cheaper than ever before, electric cars can be made cheaper."

On Sunday, organizers estimated that 75,000 people attended another march on the Upper East Side.

Protesters were joined by Democratic US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and actors Susan Sarandon, Ethan Hawke, Edward Norton, Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon.

belindarobinson@chinadailyusa.com