This Earth Day 2023, as humans and leaders of environmental movements concerned about the survival of the planet, we demand Biden to call for negotiations in Ukraine now!
Join CODEPINK, Asociación La Ruta del Clima, Environmentalists Against War, Extinction Rebellion U.S., Pax Christi International, Veterans for Peace, World Beyond War and more to Tell Biden to End the War and Save the Planet.
Individuals, sign the petition below! Are you apart of an organization and would like to join these orgs on bringing these demands to Earth Day local actions? You can sign up via the google form here.
Dear President Biden and Members of Congress:
This Earth Day 2023, as humans and leaders of environmental movements concerned about the survival of the planet, we call on you to immediately support a ceasefire and peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. Ending the war economy and divesting from military contractors is crucial for our climate, just like preventing the Willow Project in Alaska, stopping Cop City, and adopting Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) as opposed to GDP as our primary economic metric! On Earth Day, we stand with our partners who make these demands, and all demands which will bring the war and fossil fuel economy to a timely end.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to massive death and displacement, as well as environmental damage with exponential increases in greenhouse gas emissions from rocket attacks and explosions. Attacks on infrastructure–railways, electrical grids, apartment buildings, oil depots–have led to hollowed-out cities blanketed by charred rubble and toxic munitions.
Additionally, the sabotage of the underwater Nord Stream pipelines supplying Russian gas to Germany led to the release of 300,000 tons of methane gas into the atmosphere, similar to the annual emissions of a million cars. According to the UN Environmental Programme, it was the largest release of methane gas emissions ever recorded.
The shelling of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, particularly the Zaporizhzhia plant, has increased fears of an explosion that would spread radiation throughout Ukraine and beyond.
As the fighting has now gone on for a year with no end in sight, Ukraine braces itself for further disruption of local ecosystems, forest fires, blackened trees, air pollution, sewage leaks and chemical contamination of rivers and groundwater in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has mutated the global fuel market, with Russian cuts of fuel exports and Western sanctions leading many European countries to resume filthy coal-fired power generation. US companies have also consolidated money and power as a result, dramatically increasing their exports of natural gas to Europe. These exorbitant profits will fuel the fossil fuel economy for years to come.
And then there’s the question of national priorities. The U.S. alone has given over $100 billion in aid to Ukraine since the war began (about half of which is dedicated to military funding and weaponry), with billions more coming from Europe. This number is a stark reminder that wealthy countries have never fulfilled their 2009 promise to invest $100 billion a year to help poorer countries adapt to climate change, and now the world is looking to wealthier nations for a loss and damage fund. As the U.S. again readily pours our resources into war without a meaningful plan for peace, let alone for addressing climate change, we call on our leaders to begin reallocating resources towards climate change mitigation and prioritize seeking an end to this costly war.
Our call for a ceasefire is all the more urgent as the world risks the ultimate environmental crime: nuclear war. Should a conventional war not deliver a decisive victory –and we do not see one in the offing– the risk of the use of nuclear weapons increases and jeopardizes the entirety of life on earth.
We must stop this madness before it’s too late! For the sake of future life on this planet, we urge you to initiate peace talks to end this war now.
Sincerely,