The Greens are part of the Global Climate Convergence, an international effort seeking “system change” to combat climate change. The convergence links the climate change issue to other movements for democratic rights and social change, from a $15 an hour minimum wage to immigrant rights to forgiving student debt and cutting the military budget.

Green Party Calls for New York to Go Carbon Free by 2030

Global Climate Convergence links grassroots movements demanding system change

The Green Party of New York State joined today with other environmental, social and economic justice activists to demand action on climate change by government at all levels.

The Greens are part of the Global Climate Convergence, an international effort seeking “system change” to combat climate change. The convergence links the climate change issue to other movements for democratic rights and social change, from a $15 an hour minimum wage to immigrant rights to forgiving student debt and cutting the military budget.

“The failure of our elected officials to take effective action on climate change is due to the same forces that cause tremendous income inequality and massive military spending. The threat to the well-being of the planet and our people is so great that we need fundamental changes to our political and economic system,” said Gloria Mattera, co-chair of GPNYS.

The group wants the United States to public commit to transition to a 100% clean, renewable energy economy by 2030 when the UN meeting on climate change takes place in NYC in September.

The Green Party was a principal organizer along with System Change Not Climate Change and Occupy Pipeline of the march and rally at Zuccotti Park in NYC for Earth Day. The Greens also supported the Earth Day actions in Albany targeting the increase train shipment of crude oil at the Port of Albany.

The Green Party called upon state lawmakers to implement the report by Stanford professor Marc Jacobsen with NYS researchers showing how New York could become carbon neutral by 2030. The Party initiated a statewide call-in campaign to urge State Comptroller Tom Di Napoli to divest the state pension funds from fossil fuel companies (oil, gas, coal). They also are calling for the shutdown of the state’s nuclear power plants such as Indian Point and a ban on fracking for natural gas.

The Green Party is supporting legislation to require labeling on genetically engineering food sold in NY, though it would go further and impose a moratorium on the planting of GMO crops.

“It is time for New Yorkers to demand action. We have to put the needs of the 99% ahead of the greed of the 1%. It is time to end the rule of Governor Cuomo and his Wall Street backers,” said Howie Hawkins, who is seeking the Green Party nomination for Governor.

The Convergence has more than 200 events in over 50 cities planned from Earth Day to May Day. The Convergence is calling for an end to all dirty fuels, including those that are often wrongly labeled as clean and the extraction processes that go with these forms of energy. This is a call to action to stop the extraction and mining of dirty fuels, new uranium mines for nuclear power and so-called "clean" coal as well as the mining of fracking sand for oil and gas fracking. "This call to action includes the halting the transport of crude oil from the Bakken shale and Alberta tar sands, including pipelines, crude oil trains, coal trains and coastal transport tankers.

Groups involved in the Convergence include the Green Shadow Cabinet, Organic Consumer Association, Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign,PopularResistance.org, System Change Not Climate Change, Alliance for Global Justice, Workers United, Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter, and many state Green Parties.

In addition to the emergency global Green New Deal, other issues that are part of the People Planet Peace over Profit agenda include:

- Full employment with community-based small businesses, worker co-ops, small farmers & government jobs.

- Universal free healthcare & education through college. Affordable housing for all & a moratorium on foreclosures.

- Demilitarization: Cut at least 50% of military spending, freeing up resources for social programs & infrastructure. Foreign policy based on international law, human rights and diplomacy – not the military-industrial complex.

- End mass incarceration & deportations. Treat immigrant rights as human rights & drug abuse as a public health issue.

- Political democracy: All people, not corporations, have the right to self-government, to vote, & to have our votes count.

- Support human rights, rights of Mother Earth, the call for peace & an end to colonialism & imperialism, as called for in the Cochabamba People’s Agreement & the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Green Party is one of many groups beginning to focus attention on the UN Climate Change Summit in late September being convened by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. This Summit is aimed at catalyzing action by governments, business, finance, industry, and civil society that will help the world shift toward a low-carbon economy. The Summit will come one year before countries are supposed to conclude a global climate agreement in 2015 through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Greens want the US to commit to a goal of carbon neutrality in 15 years.