In response to President Obama’s State of the Union speech tonight, Greenpeace USA Executive Director Annie Leonard made the following statement:
“Tonight, President Obama recognized the need for bold, visionary solutions to our world’s biggest crises, and climate change is no exception. Spurred by the growing strength and diversity of the climate movement, President Obama is the first U.S. president to sincerely champion the fight against climate change. However, to secure his legacy, President Obama must pursue solutions that match the scale of the problem, which means keeping fossil fuels in the ground and putting the needs of the people ahead of the polluters.
“It’s encouraging to hear President Obama say that he is ‘going to push to change the way we manage our oil and coal resources, so that they better reflect the costs they impose on taxpayers and our planet.’ For far too long, the Interior Department has given away our publicly owned fossil fuels to mining and drilling companies without regard for the damage they cause to communities and our climate. We look forward to hearing more from President Obama about the steps his administration will take to keep our fossil fuels in the ground.
“One of the greatest obstacles to a clean, safe, equitable future is the millions of dollars in corporate campaign contributions that are polluting our democracy. We won’t solve climate change while the fossil fuel industry bankrolls elected officials. Nor will we solve America’s gun violence epidemic while the NRA controls some of our elected officials. But these crises are fixable, starting with getting money out and people into our democracy,” said Leonard.
“There’s a can-do spirit in the President’s words today that rings true for many people around the country. The clean energy revolution is transforming communities for the better. Victories like the rejection of Keystone XL and the right to same sex marriage took hard work but put America on track towards a better future,” said Leonard.
For further information or comment, please contact:
Kat Clark, Greenpeace USA Media Officer (based in San Francisco), 415-529-0941, [email protected]
