Responding to the Climate Emergency + War in Ukraine | Indigenous Environmental Network

Relatives,

The war in Ukraine is a stark illustration of how fossil fuels directly enable global conflict and threaten democracy in addition to driving the climate emergency. Enormous earnings from oil and gas exports provided Putin with the hard currency needed to fuel his invasion of Ukraine. President Biden took a necessary first step by halting imports of Russian oil, gas, and coal — but lasting peace and global stability demand bolder climate leadership.

That’s why Build Back Fossil Free, a growing movement of over 1100 groups organizing for President Biden to use his executive authority to speed the end the era of fossil fuel production, protect communities from the climate emergency, and repair the harm caused by fossil fuels – alongside 200+ climate, Indigenous, social justice, religious, foreign policy, and progressive groups – is urging the Biden administration to continue to resist bad faith attempts to lock in future fossil fuel exploitation and dependence by invoking the Defense Production Act (DPA) to ramp up the deployment of renewable energy and stop existing fossil fuel infrastructure to ensure a just transition off fossil fuels.

Amidst the backdrop of the latest dire Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, the need to transition off of fossil fuels has never been more urgent. This is a critical moment to stand up to the false narrative being spread by the fossil fuel industry that we need to increase oil and gas production in response to surging energy prices, and demand that the President instead lead a just transition off fossil fuels once and for all.

Biden can deploy his executive powers to weaken the geopolitical power of fossil fuels, address the climate emergency, and prevent further mass suffering and death by invoking the DPA to produce alternatives to fossil fuels, fight the climate emergency, combat Putin’s stranglehold on the world’s energy economy, and support the transition to a renewable and just economy.

MESSAGING GUIDANCE & ACTION TOOLKIT:
Responding to the Climate Emergency + War in Ukraine

Toolkit Index

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How to use this guide

*Tier 1– I don’t have much time***	Use our sample tweets and graphics to help spread the word on social media. Share our message with your networks and help spread the word that now is a critical moment to scale up renewable energy.
*Tier 2– I have a few minutes***	Add your name to our petition calling on Biden to use the Defense Production Act (DPA) to rapidly accelerate the transition off fossil fuels once and for all – then share with three of your friends!
*Tier 3* *– I can give an hour or so* *TOP PRIORITY*	Use our LTE guidelines to draft your own Letter to the Editor. We’ll provide a template, talking points, and guidance on how to get it published. The more placements we can get, the further we can spread the message and drive pressure on Biden!

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Sample tweets

These posts can also be used on Facebook/Instagram by replacing @POTUS with @JoeBiden.

We applaud the latest ban on Russian fossil fuel imports, but we need more! @POTUS, you must invoke the Defense Production Act to prevent further suffering, address the climate emergency, and transition the world off of fossil fuels. #PeoplevsFossilFuels

Big Oil and Putin are war profiteers @POTUS should put people and the planet over profits and invoke the DPA to stop fossil fuels, and support the transition to a renewable and just economy. #PeoplevsFossilFuels

Russian oil and gas is funding the invasion of Ukraine, killing innocent people, and American oil and gas companies are lining their pockets with spiking prices. @POTUS must enact the DPA to address this crisis and transition the world off of fossil fuels. #PeoplevsFossilFuels

Now that @POTUS has banned Russian oil, #BuildBackFossilFree is calling for:
Utilize the Defense Production Act for renewable energy
Fight the #ClimateEmergency
Stop fossil fuel infrastructure
Create good quality union jobs
@POTUS You have a historic opportunity to produce alternatives to fossil fuels, fight the climate emergency, combat Putin’s stranglehold on the world’s energy economy, and support the transition to a renewable and just economy. #PeoplevsFossilFuels
@POTUS The time has never been more important to build a future without reliance on fossil fuels causing death in destruction across the world. We urge you to use the DPA to ramp up our renewable energy production and phase out fossil fuels. #PeoplevsFossilFuels

@POTUS We cannot let Big Oil leverage war to increase profits and raise gas prices for working people. We need to use this moment to transition off fossil fuels for good. You can use your executive power to jump start our renewable energy future. #PeoplevsFossilFuels

Hashtags

#PeoplevsFossilFuels
#ClimateEmergency
#KeepItInTheGround
#BidenKeepYourPromise
#StandWithUkraine
#BuildBackFossilFree

Graphics
Download HERE
Share one of these graphics (or a few!) to accompany your post(s) on social:

News Hits
Share one of these news stories (or a couple!) to accompany your post(s) on social:

The Case for Declaring a National Climate Emergency – The Nation, March 11 2022
Could clean energy replace Russian oil? – The Boston Globe, March 14 2022
Biden urged to invoke Cold War powers to blunt energy price spike – Bloomberg, March 12 2022
‘Defining moment’: How can the U.S. end its dependency on fossil fuels? – The Guardian, March 11 2022
Democrats want the oil industry to drill more. What does that mean for climate campaigners? – Washington Post, March 10 2022
Biden urged to unleash Defense Production Act to expand green energy rather than oil production – The Washington Examiner, March 9 2022

Talking points

Connecting climate & Ukraine

At 60% of Russia’s exports and 40% of Russia’s federal budget, fossil fuels are funding the conflict in Ukraine, creating devastation, and contributing to the loss of civilian lives from both Russia and Ukraine.

Until the world moves off of fossil fuels, we will continue to lose innocent lives to war and climate chaos while being beholden to bad actors like Vladimir Putin. It is essential that we provide an alternate vision and plan of action for the Biden administration beyond the oil industry’s plan to drill more and build additional export infrastructure.

The American oil industry has a long, documented history of working extremely closely with Putin and state-run Russian oil companies. Now, the industry is trying to leverage the Ukraine crisis as an excuse to push for more drilling domestically while raising gas prices and protecting their profits

Calling for MORE RENEWABLES

To undercut Russia’s military power, secure a stable, affordable energy supply for American households, and take on the climate emergency, the Biden administration must advance the just transition to a 100% clean and renewable energy economy.

A full renewable energy transition is the only way to guarantee a predictable, affordable and resilient energy supply insulated from global shocks. The need to kick America’s fossil fuel reliance and disentangle national economies from the Russian oil and gas industry is clear.

A major investment from our government in America’s renewable energy future would dramatically cut dependence on oil and gas, insulate American households from future price shocks in the fossil fuel market, and make communities more resilient.

We thank President Biden for his decision to halt oil imports from Russia. Now, we need him to use his broad authority under existing law to invoke the Defense Production Act (DPA) to ramp up the deployment of renewable energy to transition the world off fossil fuels.

Pushing back against big oil

Americans are feeling pain at the pump, with prices surging above $4 a gallon. High prices have a particularly hard impact on low-income people who are already struggling to make ends meet.

While we’re paying high prices at the pump, who do you think benefits? Big Oil. They’re raking in their highest profits in nearly a decade.

Big Oil spent decades, and made tens of billions of dollars, working hand-in-hand with Putin to expand Russian oil and gas production and strengthen his regime. They shouldn’t be allowed to profit from his aggression after they collaborated with him for so many years. Instead, they should pay for the damage they’ve done and do their part to help us combat his influence.

Big Oil isn’t hurting because of this crisis and doesn’t need any favors – they are making record profits as gas prices rise. Instead of helping Americans at the pump or Ukranians in the face of Putin’s aggression, Congressional Republicans and Big Oil are exploiting this crisis to make even more money and lock in a fossil fuel future.

More US drilling isn’t going to help solve the problem or lower prices – it will just deepen our dependence on expensive fossil fuels while destroying our climate, harming our health, and polluting communities.

In fact, US oil production has grown exponentially over the last decade, and the oil and gas industry has gotten more public land to drill on under Biden than under Trump. Oil producers are currently sitting on 26 million acres of public land that they haven’t used. They’re using the Ukraine war to justify trying to grab more.

New fossil fuel infrastructure takes years to build, so that won’t do anything to lower prices, it’ll just keep us dependent on expensive fossil fuels and further wreck our climate while enriching the same few fossil fuel executives.

More Big Oil counterarguments here. And here’s a helpful Twitter thread to amplify.

PETITION → submit a comment to the White House here

LTE Guidelines → please review the LTE Guide here

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