Sen. Cory BookerCory Anthony BookerRand Paul introduces bill to end no-knock warrants Black lawmakers unveil bill to remove Confederate statues from Capitol Harris grapples with defund the police movement amid veep talk MORE (D-N.J.) on Wednesday slammed crime bills signed in the 1990s, touting his own plans for criminal justice reform.
“I passed a comprehensive criminal justice reform bill with other senators on both sides of the aisle, the first time since those horrible crime bills back in the 1990s,” Booker, a 2020 presidential candidate, said Wednesday during a CNN town hall.
Booker appeared to reference the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which was authored by former vice president and possible 2020 Democratic candidate Joe BidenJoe BidenHillicon Valley: Biden calls on Facebook to change political speech rules | Dems demand hearings after Georgia election chaos | Microsoft stops selling facial recognition tech to police Trump finalizing executive order calling on police to use ‘force with compassion’ The Hill’s Campaign Report: Biden campaign goes on offensive against Facebook MORE. The legislation was also backed by fellow 2020 contender Sen. Bernie SandersBernie SandersThe Hill’s 12:30 Report: Milley apologizes for church photo-op Harris grapples with defund the police movement amid veep talk Biden courts younger voters — who have been a weakness MORE (I-Vt.), according to CNN.
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The bill set strict sentencing standards which, critics have argued, led to an era of mass incarceration.
Biden, who is reportedly close to making a decision on a possible White House bid, has said “I haven’t always been right” on the issue of criminal justice.
Booker also said Wednesday that he would “absolutely” support mass pardons for federal marijuana offenses.
“The war on drugs has been a war on people,” he said. “As president of the United States, your job is to pursue justice.”
Five Democrats running for president in 2020 took to Twitter to congratulate Lori Lightfoot (D) on being elected Chicago’s next mayor.
Lightfoot was elected Tuesday night with about 74 percent of the vote, setting her up to be Chicago’s first black female mayor and the Windy City’s first openly gay mayor.
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South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete ButtigiegPete ButtigiegScaled-back Pride Month poses challenges for fundraising, outreach Biden hopes to pick VP by Aug. 1 It’s as if a Trump operative infiltrated the Democratic primary process MORE, Sen. Kamala HarrisKamala Devi HarrisRand Paul introduces bill to end no-knock warrants The Hill’s Campaign Report: Biden campaign goes on offensive against Facebook McEnany says Juneteenth is a very ‘meaningful’ day to Trump MORE (Calif.), Sen. Cory BookerCory Anthony BookerRand Paul introduces bill to end no-knock warrants Black lawmakers unveil bill to remove Confederate statues from Capitol Harris grapples with defund the police movement amid veep talk MORE (N.J.), Miramar, Fl. Mayor Wayne Messam and Sen. Amy KlobucharAmy KlobucharHillicon Valley: Biden calls on Facebook to change political speech rules | Dems demand hearings after Georgia election chaos | Microsoft stops selling facial recognition tech to police Democrats demand Republican leaders examine election challenges after Georgia voting chaos Harris grapples with defund the police movement amid veep talk MORE (Minn.) all pointed to the historic nature of Lightfoot’s victory in their congratulatory tweets.
“Congratulations to mayor-elect @LightfootForChi on her historic victory in Chicago. She will be a terrific new leader for her city and in the community of American mayors,” Buttigieg, the only openly gay candidate in the crowded Democratic presidential primary, tweeted on Wednesday.
Congratulations to mayor-elect @LightfootForChi on her historic victory in Chicago. She will be a terrific new leader for her city and in the community of American mayors.
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) April 3, 2019
“Chicago just made history. Congratulations @LightfootForChi on your election as Mayor. Representation matters, and your leadership will pave the way for many more to come,” wrote Harris.
Chicago just made history. Congratulations @LightfootForChi on your election as Mayor. Representation matters, and your leadership will pave the way for many more to come.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) April 3, 2019
“In a city that serves as the hometown for many Black American politicians who have made history, there is another political first. Congrats @LightfootForChi on becoming Chicago’s first Black woman mayor and good luck as you embark on this historic journey,” tweeted Booker.
In a city that serves as the hometown for many Black American politicians who have made history, there is another political first. Congrats @LightfootForChi on becoming Chicago’s first Black woman mayor and good luck as you embark on this historic journey. https://t.co/N9VIRHg2Fg
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) April 3, 2019
“Congratulations @LightfootForChi for making history last night in #Chicago! Mayors get the job done. Wishing you well,” Messam tweeted Wednesday afternoon.
Congratulations @LightfootForChi for making history last night in #Chicago! Mayors get the job done. Wishing you well https://t.co/lH9AoDQgxF pic.twitter.com/L8FrczcOz5
— Wayne Messam (@WayneMessam) April 3, 2019
“Congratulations to @LightfootForChi on her history-making victory last night!” Klobuchar added Wednesday morning.
Congratulations to @LightfootForChi on her history-making victory last night! https://t.co/JMESUlW4jA
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) April 3, 2019
Lightfoot, a former prosecutor, beat out Toni Preckwinkle, another black woman who serves as the president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and runs the Cook County Democratic Party.
Lightfoot is the first woman to win the city’s mayoral race since Jane Byrne in 1979 and is the first African-American to attain the office since Harold Washington in 1983. She will be inaugurated in May.
A new poll shows former Vice President Joe BidenJoe BidenHillicon Valley: Biden calls on Facebook to change political speech rules | Dems demand hearings after Georgia election chaos | Microsoft stops selling facial recognition tech to police Trump finalizing executive order calling on police to use ‘force with compassion’ The Hill’s Campaign Report: Biden campaign goes on offensive against Facebook MORE with a commanding lead over the field of Democratic contenders in the first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa.
The survey from Monmouth University finds Biden with the support of 27 percent of respondents, followed by Vermont Sen. Bernie SandersBernie SandersThe Hill’s 12:30 Report: Milley apologizes for church photo-op Harris grapples with defund the police movement amid veep talk Biden courts younger voters — who have been a weakness MORE (I) at 16 percent.
No other candidate pulls double-digit support, but South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete ButtigiegPete ButtigiegScaled-back Pride Month poses challenges for fundraising, outreach Biden hopes to pick VP by Aug. 1 It’s as if a Trump operative infiltrated the Democratic primary process MORE continues his impressive rise in the polls with a third-place showing, drawing the support of 9 percent of those surveyed.
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Rounding out the field are Sens. Elizabeth WarrenElizabeth WarrenWarren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases OVERNIGHT DEFENSE: Joint Chiefs chairman says he regrets participating in Trump photo-op | GOP senators back Joint Chiefs chairman who voiced regret over Trump photo-op | Senate panel approves 0B defense policy bill Trump on collision course with Congress over bases with Confederate names MORE (D-Mass.) and Kamala HarrisKamala Devi HarrisRand Paul introduces bill to end no-knock warrants The Hill’s Campaign Report: Biden campaign goes on offensive against Facebook McEnany says Juneteenth is a very ‘meaningful’ day to Trump MORE (D-Calif.) at 7 percent, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) at 6 percent, Sen. Amy KlobucharAmy KlobucharHillicon Valley: Biden calls on Facebook to change political speech rules | Dems demand hearings after Georgia election chaos | Microsoft stops selling facial recognition tech to police Democrats demand Republican leaders examine election challenges after Georgia voting chaos Harris grapples with defund the police movement amid veep talk MORE (D-Minn.) at 4 percent and Sen. Cory BookerCory Anthony BookerRand Paul introduces bill to end no-knock warrants Black lawmakers unveil bill to remove Confederate statues from Capitol Harris grapples with defund the police movement amid veep talk MORE (D-N.J.) at 3 percent.
The survey finds Biden mopping up among older people and working-class voters.
Biden has support from 44 percent of those respondents over the age of 65. He has Thirty-eight percent of those surveyed who are earning less than $50,000 per year support him, as do 34 percent of respondents without a college degree.
“If Biden does get into this race, he’ll start out as a clear front-runner in Iowa,” said Patrick Murray, the director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute. “Not only does he garner support from crucial demographic groups but he is almost universally well-liked among all Democratic voters.”
Biden is expected to launch his presidential campaign sometime after Easter.
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The controversy that exploded after several women accused him of inappropriate touching at public events does not appear to have tarnished his image among Democratic voters.
Seventy-eight percent of Iowa Democrats have a favorable view of Biden, compared to only 14 percent who view him unfavorably. That’s the best net favorability rating in the field.
Sanders is at 67 percent favorable and 26 percent unfavorable. Buttigieg posts a 45 percent to 9 percent favorable-unfavorable split.
“Buttigieg’s current standing in the horse race is impressive given that nearly half of likely Democratic caucus-goers have yet to form an opinion of him,” Murray said. “He has one of the best positive to negative ratios in the field. He could move up if he is able to maintain that rating as he introduces himself to more voters. Klobuchar is another candidate with potential to increase her support as she becomes better known, based on her current ratings ratio.”
At 51 percent, health care is far and away the top issue for Iowa Democrats, with climate change a distant second at 17 percent.
“Here’s one example of why this race is very open despite the possibility of having a nominal front-runner if Biden gets in,” Murray said. “Health care and the environment are clearly the top issues in this race, but it doesn’t look like any candidate owns a clear advantage on them. And there are a bunch of other issues that candidates may be able to leverage into voter support over the next few months.”
The Monmouth University survey of 351 likely Democratic caucus-goers in Iowa was conducted between April 4 and April 9 and has a 5.2 percentage point margin of error.
As rights groups around the world marked Human Rights Day on Tuesday, Amnesty International released the results of a survey of 10,000 young adults regarding their top global concerns heading into a new decade, reporting that the climate crisis is what a majority of young people see as a major threat to their human rights.
The group’s “Future of Humanity” survey polled members of Generation Z between the ages of 18 and 25, asking young adults from 22 countries—including Nigeria, Pakistan, Spain, Tunisia, and the U.S.—about their biggest concerns.
Three months after an estimated six million people rallied all over the world in a Global Climate Strike—led by 16-year-old climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and several youth-led groups—41% of respondents named accelerating climate change as the biggest sign that previous generations have failed them, while 36% cited pollution.
“In this year when young people mobilized in huge numbers for the climate, it can be no surprise that many of those surveyed saw it as one of the most important issues facing the world,” said Kumi Naidoo, secretary general of Amnesty International. “The right to a healthy environment, including a safe climate, is essential for the enjoyment of so many other rights. It is a right that young people today have been forced to take the lead in asserting.”
Out of 10 environmental issues the respondents were asked about, the warming of the planet was named the most important by 57%.
The poll made clear that young adults consider themselves to be living in a “failed system” in which governments all over the world have subsidized climate-warming fossil fuel extraction for decades and big polluters have bought favorable treatment in the halls of power, amounting to a betrayal of younger and future generations.
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The climate crisis was cited as a greater concern for young people than terrorism, which was named by just 31% of respondents—even though in many parts of the world, government leaders have spent the past two decades assuring their constituents that their greatest existential threats lie in terrorist groups from other countries.
“As we mark Human Rights Day, we need to recognize that the climate crisis will arguably be the defining issue for younger generations,” said Naidoo. “This is a wake-up call to world leaders that they must take far more decisive action to tackle the climate emergency or risk betraying younger generations further.”
Besides the climate crisis, the survey found, young people see major concerns with the way their countries and societies are run and the abuse of power by many world leaders.
When asked about top challenges facing their own countries, 36% of respondents named corruption. Economic instability was named by 26%, income inequality was cited by 25%, and 21% of people named violence against women.
In addition to the Global Climate Strike and regular protests regarding the climate crisis, Amnesty International noted, the survey was released as young people in countries including Iraq, Hong Kong, Lebanon, and Chile are leading uprisings against their government leaders.
“The message from young people is clear. We are living inside a failed system,” said Naidoo. “The climate crisis, pollution, corruption, and poor living standards are all windows on an alarming truth about how the powerful have exploited their power for selfish and often short-term gain.”
“If the events of 2019 teach us anything, it is that younger generations deserve a seat at the table when it comes to decisions about them,” he added. “Unless the voices of those on the frontlines are part of the discussion on how we tackle the challenges facing humanity, the crises we are witnessing in the world will only get worse.”
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Google co-founder and billionaire Larry Page is the subject of a report Wednesday from tech journal ReCode which shows how the Silicon Valley super-rich use workarounds in managing their private foundations that avoid direct contributions to actual charities.
Page’s Carl Victor Page Memorial Foundation pushed around $400 million in publicly announced Christmastime donations between 2015 and 2017, but none of it reportedly went directly to charity.
“This a very bad look for Larry Page,” tweeted National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy researcher Ryan Schlegel.
As ReCode reporter Teddy Schleifer described in his piece on the billionaire, Page’s foundation funnels cash primarily into funds which allow their benefactor a measure of control.
“What Page was doing each year was something of a philanthropic sleight of hand,” wrote Schleifer.
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“Donations from the foundations to the DAF count toward the 5 percent, even if the DAF then sits on the millions indefinitely,” Schleifer added.
The billionaire did donate $21 million from his foundation to charity, but, as ReCode shows, the amount funnelled to DAFs was far greater.
As a result of the DAF system the money in the funds can remain, untaxed, forever. It’s a clever tax workaround that uses the specter of altruism to mask a cold calculation over how to hoard capital.
While experts say many charitable foundations use DAFs in a responsible and reasonable manner, ReCode‘s analysis showed that Page’s use of it is in a class of its own.
“It is possible,” wrote Schleifer, “that Page is the country’s greatest exploiter of this loophole.”
Given Page’s foundation’s size and power, said National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy’s Schlegel, the billionaire is not only sitting on tax-free money—he’s sitting on power.
“If he wants to avoid public disclosure of the recipients of his largesse he’s perfectly free to set up an LLC as some of his very rich peers have done lately,” said Schlegel. “But this set up is publicly subsidized influence laundering.”
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Smoke from the continuing, disastrous bushfires ringing Australia has delivered the country’s capital Canberra its worst air quality on record—a stark reminder to the government that the crisis is not ending anytime soon.
“This is an exceptional time for Canberra,” Australia’s acting chief health officer, Dr. Paul Dugdale, told the Guardian, “usually our air quality is among the best in the world.”
According to the Guardian:
Bushfires in Australia have been burning for months, with no end in sight. The crisis has only gotten worse in recent weeks as the flames encircle the country.
As Common Dreams reported on Monday, residents of the Victoria town of Mallacoota were forced to flee into the water as the fires consumed their homes.
On Wednesday, the Australian Navy mobilized to bring aid to those trapped in Victoria.
Two ships now headed for the southeastern state “will be able to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief support including beach recovery of isolated civilians and shore logistic support to isolated people,” said a Defence Force spokesperson.
Images from Canberra on Wednesday showed a hazy, grey-yellow New Year’s sky and low visibility on the ground.
Photojournalist Matthew Abbot, on the ground in Australia, noted the timing of the fires and the new decade in a tweet.
“My last day of the decade felt like the apocalypse,” said Abbot.
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Choked-out skies were not just found in Canberra. Over 2,500 miles across the ocean, in New Zealand, residents shared photos of the smoky haze in their country.
Hikers on the Tasman Glacier on New Zealand’s South Island posted video of the smoke at the landmark.
“We can actually smell the burning here in Christchurch,” said one Twitter user.
Observers shared graphical representations of the scope and scale of the disaster on social media.
Guardian Australia journalist David Marr in a column Tuesday said that because the smoke from the current fires was beyond what Australia is used to in normal fire seasons, the crisis is harder to ignore.
“We’re used to a day or two in town when there’s a bit of smoke about and the light turns a horrible yellow,” wrote Marr. “That’s every summer. But this is different. Deep in cities, miles from the fire front, the smoke is so thick you can’t see to the end of the street.”
But the crisis is unlikely to move the pro-emissions position of Prime Minister Scott Morrison, a supporter of fossil fuels and extractive resources.
According to the New York Times:
Morrison’s attempts to “spin” the conversation around the bushfires away from the climate crisis, wrote the Guardian‘s Lenore Taylor, won’t work in the face of the current disaster.
“Yes, we’ve always had fires, but not like this, and everyone knows it, no matter how diligently some news organizations compile lists of blazes from the past,” Taylor wrote. “And we also know why the prime minister would seek to present this catastrophe as bad, but also somehow as situation normal.”
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Ivar of The Viking Raiders suffered an injury during an eight-man tag match on tonight’s episode of Raw.
The Viking Raiders teamed with Apollo Crews & Ricochet in an eight-man tag match against The Hurt Business (MVP, Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin & Cedric Alexander) on tonight’s show. Near the end of the match, Ivar hit a suicide dive to the outside. He started making an X signal with his hands after hitting the move. In the ring, Alexander avoided a 630 from Ricochet and then gave Ricochet a Michinoku Driver to get the win. The referee counted to three despite Ricochet kicking out.
After the match, medical personnel were shown checking on Ivar outside the ring.
WWE announced after tonight’s show that Ivar suffered a cervical injury during the match. He was taken to the hospital as a precaution and is expected to make a full recovery: “During the Eight-Man Tag Team Match on Monday Night Raw, Ivar suffered a cervical injury on a Viking Dive to the floor. As a precaution, Ivar was transported to a local hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.”
Conservation and climate action groups condemned President Donald Trump’s “unprecedented” rollback Thursday of a 50-year-old law which made history when it was passed in 1970 by allowing communities to have a say in federal infrastructure projects that would affect local resources and ecosystems.
Trump on Thursday proposed major changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which requires that major construction plans for pipelines, power plants, bridges, and other infrastructure projects undergo a detailed assessment to consider their impact on the environment before approval.
“Today, Trump is taking a chainsaw to a bedrock environmental law that has protected Americans for decades,” said Rebecca Concepcion Apostol, U.S. program director at Oil Change International. “This is a reckless, dangerous, blatant gift to the fossil fuel industry that will have dire consequences for all of us.”
The rollback of NEPA, called an “international treasure” by one former EPA official, will allow the fossil fuel industry to quickly get approval for new projects that could send climate-warming, pollution-causing emissions into surrounding communities, as well as harm wildlife habitats and federally protected lands, with scant oversight.
The move is “nothing more than another attempt by the administration to tip the scale in favor of industry,” said Theresa Pierno, president and CEO of the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA).
“This law has given people a voice in how their public lands are used, and ensures the environment, from the air we breathe to the water we drink, is taken into account before development projects move forward,” Pierno added. “These unprecedented revisions deliberately ignore years of science-driven data, letting the government and industry off the hook for addressing the impacts of climate change on our national parks.”
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) explained the groundbreaking effect NEPA has had on American communities for decades.
“In short, NEPA protected people by making sure those who were affected by these projects had a voice,” tweeted the group.
Trump’s proposed changes, which will be subject to a 60-day comment period, would narrow the scope of NEPA reviews by redefining the term “major federal action” to reduce the number of projects that are required to undergo review. The rollback would also restrict public input by imposing a strict time limit for reviews, allowing just one year for many projects and two years for the largest projects.
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While the Obama administration expanded NEPA by ordering the government to consider projects’ possible impacts on the climate crisis, Trump is proposing that courts will no longer have to consider the cumulative climate effects of infrastructure projects.
“These changes mean polluting corporations will have an easier time doing whatever they want, wherever they want, with even less consideration for climate change or local concerns than they’ve shown so far,” Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, told the New York Times.
Gina McCarthy, a former EPA administrator under the Obama administration who is now the head of the NRDC, called the rollback a “dangerous move” that the group was committed to fighting against.
The revisions “deliberately ignore years of science-driven data about the climate crisis and the effects of pipeline and other fossil fuel projects,” Pierno said.
“Across the country, rising sea levels, melting glaciers, and intensifying storms and wildfires are already destroying our national parks, which are home to countless historic and cultural resources,” she added. “But the administration’s deliberate steps to undermine science and expertise will only make matters worse. We need solutions to tackle the climate crisis now, not reforms that make it easier to stick our heads in the sand.”
The environmental law group Earthjustice urged Americans to honor the legacy of those who pushed to pass NEPA into law by speaking out during the federal comment period—which officially begins on Friday.
“This law was built on decades of activism from people who wanted a say in decisions affecting their health, their lives, their communities, and their environment,” said Stephen Schima, senior legislative counsel at Earthjustice. “By stacking the deck for corporate polluters and eviscerating public participation, this administration is trashing that legacy.”
“Protect your voice and speak out against this proposal today,” the group tweeted.
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Progressive Democrat Jessica Cisneros of south Texas notched another key endorsement on Wednesday as Sen. Bernie Sanders announced his support for the human rights attorney’s primary election bid to unseat Rep. Henry Cuellar.
Laredo-born Cisneros is seeking to defeat Cuellar in Texas’s 28th district. Cisneros has dubbed Cuellar, a 15-year incumbent, “Trump’s favorite Democrat.”
In a statement cheering the new endorsement, Cisneros tied her run to Sanders’s 2020 presidential campaign.
“I’m so grateful to receive the endorsement of Senator Bernie Sanders who is running a grassroots campaign to fight for working people, not big corporate donors,” said Cisneros. “We’re proud that presidential candidates are taking a close look at South Texas as we fight to turn Texas blue in November—and that they know we’re the only candidate in this race who will champion Democratic values in Washington.”
Sanders, in a statement Wednesday, welcomed the fact that Cisneros was just one of a number of 2020 candidates who could usher in progressive policies.
“This is the most important election in our lifetime and I’m proud there are so many candidates running for Congress who understand that real change comes from the bottom on up, not the top on down,” said Sanders, who’s also backed Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Marie Newman of Illinois. “They’re all strong advocates for real change and together we will build a movement to transform this nation so that it works for all our people.”
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Cisneros is backed by Justice Democrats, the political action committee that helped Ocasio-Cortez in her successful challenge to 10-term Congressman Joe Crowley. Cisneros getting Sanders’s endorsement, said Justice Democrats, is “huge.”
“Jessica is building a movement in South Texas that is standing up to the most powerful forces in our country,” said Alexandra Rojas, executive director of Justice Democrats. “We’re proud she’s received this endorsement from Bernie who has dedicated his career to fighting for working families and needs fighters like Jessica in Congress to enact a bold agenda.”
The Sanders announcement comes a day after the Cisneros campaign announced endorsements from three progressive groups—Sierra Club, Texas Organizing Project (TOP), and Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio. Those organizations join a growing list of voices supporting her challenge to Cueller, such as the AFL-CIO, EMILY’s List, National Nurses United, and NARAL Pro-Choice America, as well as Democratic presidential primary candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Despite the increasing support, Cisnernos says Cuellar continues to refuse to debate her.
“When we are judged in the future, it will be by our actions at this moment,” Cisneros said Tuesday, “how we stood up for our working families, how we advocated for our most vulnerable populations, and how we fought for our planet.”
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Spain’s new left-wing coalition government on Tuesday declared a climate emergency and promised to send ambitious legislation to the country’s parliament within the next 100 days—moves that were welcomed by campaigners who responded with calls for “concrete and immediate” action plans.
Tuesday’s declaration came just two weeks after the Spanish parliament voted to approve a coalition government formed by Unidas Podemos and the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, following months of failed negotiations between the two parties.
The declaration also came less than a week after Barcelona declared a climate emergency and unveiled 103 measures that are collectively crafted to help Spain’s second-largest city halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. As Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau put it, “This is not a drill, the house is on fire.”
Colau’s comment echoed those of activists worldwide pressuring all levels of government to pursue bold policies that cut emissions and combat the climate crisis. While campaigners across Spain celebrated their government’s declaration, they also vowed to keep fighting for action on par with what scientists say is necessary in a rapidly warming world.
In the Spanish city Huesca, a branch of the global youth climate strike movement Fridays for Future—founded by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg—was among the groups demanding that the nation’s government follow the declaration with urgent action.
“Now it’s time to see… if there will really be major changes that take us away from the catastrophic path we find ourselves on,” declared Extinction Rebellion (XR) Spain.
The global XR account responded to the declaration by tweeting that “we want governments to act together and start solving this #PlanetaryEmergency NOW. #DeedsNotWords #BeyondPolitics.”
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The XR movement has three key demands of governments: declare a climate and ecological emergency; act to halt biodiveristy loss and cut planet-heating emissions; and create and accept guidance from citizens assemblies on climate and ecological justice.
The Madrid-based Spanish-language newspaper El País reported Tuesday that Teresa Ribera, vice president for the ecological transition, announced that the government will establish a citizens assembly, following in the footsteps of France.
Ribera tweeted in Spanish Tuesday that the government approved the emergency declaration “for justice (between territories, between generations and between people of the same generation), for our future, for responsibility (economic, social, environmental and institutional).”
The government’s climate legislation will “include mandatory low-emission zones in big cities” like those that “are already in effect in Barcelona and Madrid, as well as dozens of cities around the globe,” Reuters reported Tuesday.
According to Reuters:
Although “the ambitious target is likely to put the coalition government on a collision course with the far-right Vox party,” Reuters noted, it aligns with efforts pursued by other governments and the European Parliament, which declared a climate emergency in November 2019.
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