Did you see what happened in Santa Marta at the first-ever conference for the phase-out of fossil fuels? Over 50 countries had official representatives, and the civil society counterpart of this conference, the Peoples Summit for the Phase Out of Fossil Fuels, consisted of over a thousand organizations from around the world. Their Peoples’ Declaration was foregrounded with a clear-eyed analysis of how U.S.-Israeli imperialist aggression is destroying the world and shaping the fossil fuel economy. They described the impact of data centers, the importance of system change, and the necessity of anti-militarism in moving toward a sustainable, peaceful future.
Many of these organizations struggled to afford travel costs to this historic event. In contrast, organizations like the Environmental Defense Fund, who we mailed a petition to a few weeks ago about their partnership with climate villains, raised $436 million in 2025 alone. They are one of the largest environmental organizations in the country, and their work doesn’t even scratch the surface of what was written in this declaration from those on the front lines of the climate crisis and militarism. That’s why we’re following up on our letter to them, asking them to meet with us and address the elephant in the room.
Our first letter to the EDF was in response to their participation in CERAWeek, the “Super Bowl” of oil, gas, and tech conferences. The president of the EDF, Fred Krupp, was in attendance, and he spoke on the importance of growing AI and “sustainable data centers." He also framed the US-Israeli ecocidal assault on Iran as a matter of “financial security” for energy markets. The EDF’s website highlights its efforts in cutting methane emissions and touts its “game-changing” corporate partnerships with the likes of McDonald's, Walmart, FedEx, and KKR — an investment firm with holdings in weapons manufacturers.
The EDF’s theory of change involves flashing their work with multi-billion-dollar corporations to modestly reduce emissions. This might seem effective on the surface, but in reality, it is completely divorced from the material realities of people around the world. The EDF is amplifying false solutions, missing the huge elephant in the room.
The EDF isn’t addressing the Elephant in the Room. Join us in offering our help!
When militarism is not addressed, climate solutions fall flat. The U.S. military is the enforcement mechanism for the fossil fuel industry, launching resource wars like the current ecocidal assault on Iran. It is the world’s largest institutional polluter. The rapid expansion of data centers, the newest tools for war, leads to greater extraction of both fossil fuels and critical minerals. Fighting for “climate justice” and “environmental solutions,” as the EDF claims to do, is not possible if we are still trying to push for profit built on extraction and destruction.
The EDF is a massive organization. If even a fraction of its resources were used to end war and militarism, it could transform the landscape of environmental organizing — instead of getting ripped off in a deal with the devil. During a time when U.S. resource wars are at their most aggressive, there’s never been a better time for the EDF to pick a side: the war profiteers and climate criminals, or the whole of humankind?
Join us in inviting the EDF to learn more so that they can fulfill their actual mission.
In Solidarity,
Aaron, Jodie, and the entire CODEPINK team
