Protesters from over 30 different organizations rallied and sang outside the headquarters of the United States Environmental Protection Agency on Nov. 17, demanding immediate climate action from President Joe Biden in his last 60 days in office.
Sam Levin, the political and campaign director for the Green New Deal Network and one of the event’s main organizers, said it is essential that Biden acts now to pass environmental legislation before President-elect Donald Trump comes into office in January.
“There’s a common misconception that anything Biden does right now Trump will overturn, and that’s just false,” Levin said.
Nearly 100 attendees and nine speakers implored the Biden administration to pressure state and government agencies to use the remaining funds from the Inflation Reduction Act to build public transportation and other green technology.
The Inflation Reduction Act, enacted in 2022, establishes clean energy incentives for companies and gives $1.2 million to conserve public lands, according to the US Department of the Interior. During his presidency, Biden also rejoined the Paris Climate Accords, released a Methane Action Plan and set gas mileage standards for new passenger vehicles.
Naomi Tehiers, one of the protesters who was devastated by Trump’s recent victory, said that the climate was her “number one voting issue in both 2020 and 2024.”
Biden’s 2023 approval of the Willow oil-drilling project in Alaska and the United States’ record high production of natural gas drew criticism.
“Biden make a final stand, fossil fuels destroy this land,” protesters chanted as the event began at 1:30 p.m., initiated by a trumpet solo for the crowd.
Protesters also demanded Biden increase protections for public lands, cancel existing oil and gas projects like the Dakota Access Pipeline and pardon environmental activists such as Steven Donzinger.
Donzinger, a featured speaker at the rally, worked as an attorney to protect rainforests and indigenous land in Ecuador before the Chevron Corporation filed a lawsuit against him in 2011. He was charged with criminal contempt of court during the case’s appeals process in 2021.
“The greatest sin is not to use the power we have right now,” Donzinger said.
Keanu Arpels-Josiah, a sophomore at Swarthmore College and leader of Fridays for Future NYC, used his organization to bus more than 30 people from New York to the rally, and was one of the keynote speakers at the event.
“We want to show Biden that we’re still here,” Arpels-Josiah said. “And that we still deserve a future.”
Many echoed concerns for the future at the rally including Lisa Finn, the director of Third Act, an organization centered on involving those over the age of 60 in the fight for climate action.
Finn said that although her generation will not experience the most severe consequences of climate change, she feels a responsibility to help fight for future generations.
Bob Muehlenkamp, a Third Act member from Maryland, expressed concern for his grandchildren growing up in a warming world and said that politicians must know that “we can’t negotiate science and facts.”
Maxwell Downing, a recent graduate from American University and an organizer for Climate Defiance, said that he wants to show the nation that despite contention in the Democratic party, the “green left” is united.
“Biden, where's your urgency? It's a climate emergency,” protesters yelled.
As of 2020, 38 countries and the European Union have declared a climate emergency. Despite pressure from scientists and climate activists alike no U.S. leaders have made such a statement.
According to The New York Times, declaring a climate emergency would allow Biden to ban all oil and gas projects, use FEMA funds to help prepare and recover from climate-caused disasters and order private companies to invest in green energy.
Eva Sadana, a full time organizer for Sunrise D.C., said that Biden had “nothing to lose” by declaring a climate emergency in his final days in office, emphasizing that people may grieve Harris’ election loss but must work towards healing and community organizing.
Multiple branches of the Sunrise Movement, including Sunrise AU, attended and helped organize the event.
John Paul Mejia, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences and a member of Sunrise AU, said he saw the worsening effects of climate change first hand growing up in Miami.
“Biden has the opportunity to redefine a legacy that he has destroyed,” Mejin said.
Adah Crandall, another Sunrise organizer who traveled from Oregon, was one of the final speakers at the rally. She encouraged attendees not to lose hope as the rally descended into songs of protest and resistance asking all those listening to “rise up.”
“We have lost this election but we have not lost everything,” Crandall said.
This article was edited by Mackenzie Konjoyan, Tyler Davis and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks, Sabine Kanter-Huchting and Sydney Kornmeyer.
