#EndFossilFuelSubsidies!

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Dear Friends,

Last week, we tried something new: a citizen-powered survey to get Congress on the record about fossil fuel subsidies.

On Wednesday, I put out the call to the 350.org network, asking folks accross the country to call their Members of Congress and get them on the record. The response was huge. Over the course of 48 hours, hundreds of people flooded the switchboards of Senators and Representatives to ask this one crucial question: Do you support ending all fossil fuel subsidies — for oil, coal, and natural gas — which will total $113 billion over the next decade?  

But here’s the thing: we don’t yet have all House and Senate members on the record. We need to pin them down on this so we can escalate this campaign to the next phase: a surround-sound pressure campaign to really make our politicians feel the heat. 

Can you make a call today and get your Members of Congress on the record on fossil fuel subsidies? Our new tool makes it easy: www.endfossilfuelsubsidies.org/scoreboard

Some people who called reported wishy-washy answers — politicians are notoriously talented at glossing over their positions — but some of you got some clear statements:

• A staffer from Sen. Webb (D-VA) said that he supports removing all fossil fuel subsidies because “subsidies choose winners and losers.”
   
• Rep. Welch’s (D-VT) office sent this message: “Taxpayer support for mature, profitable industries makes no sense, particularly when we should be investing in the energy efficiency and clean energy sectors.”
   
• An aide to Sen. Coburn (R-OK) stated that, “Sen. Coburn supports removing all energy subsidies.”

You can see more of those statements, and get your elected officials on the record by visiting www.endfossilfuelsubsidies.org/scoreboard

People in DC tend to be pretty good at dodging questions, especially when the answers are tough to defend. But Congress needs to get in line with popular sentiment — over 70% of Americans support ending fossil fuel subsidies. What’s more, ending these subsidies would have huge benefits for our planet, slowing the output of climate pollution and setting the stage for a massive scale-out of clean energy. 

Corporate polluters have hundreds of lobbyists and huge ad budgets. We know we’ll never be able to match them with money, so we’ll have to rely on grassroots people power instead — which means we all need to speak up to make our voices heard. Please make a call today.

Thanks,

Jamie Henn and the 350.org team

We just sent this email to folks in the USA. Not on our email list yet? Sign up here!

Dear Friends,

Last week, we tried something new: a citizen-powered survey to get Congress on the record about fossil fuel subsidies.

On Wednesday, I put out the call to the 350.org network, asking folks accross the country to call their Members of Congress and get them on the record. The response was huge. Over the course of 48 hours, hundreds of people flooded the switchboards of Senators and Representatives to ask this one crucial question: Do you support ending all fossil fuel subsidies — for oil, coal, and natural gas — which will total $113 billion over the next decade?  

But here’s the thing: we don’t yet have all House and Senate members on the record. We need to pin them down on this so we can escalate this campaign to the next phase: a surround-sound pressure campaign to really make our politicians feel the heat. 

Can you make a call today and get your Members of Congress on the record on fossil fuel subsidies? Our new tool makes it easy: www.endfossilfuelsubsidies.org/scoreboard

Some people who called reported wishy-washy answers — politicians are notoriously talented at glossing over their positions — but some of you got some clear statements:

• A staffer from Sen. Webb (D-VA) said that he supports removing all fossil fuel subsidies because “subsidies choose winners and losers.”
   
• Rep. Welch’s (D-VT) office sent this message: “Taxpayer support for mature, profitable industries makes no sense, particularly when we should be investing in the energy efficiency and clean energy sectors.”
   
• An aide to Sen. Coburn (R-OK) stated that, “Sen. Coburn supports removing all energy subsidies.”

You can see more of those statements, and get your elected officials on the record by visiting www.endfossilfuelsubsidies.org/scoreboard

People in DC tend to be pretty good at dodging questions, especially when the answers are tough to defend. But Congress needs to get in line with popular sentiment — over 70% of Americans support ending fossil fuel subsidies. What’s more, ending these subsidies would have huge benefits for our planet, slowing the output of climate pollution and setting the stage for a massive scale-out of clean energy. 

Corporate polluters have hundreds of lobbyists and huge ad budgets. We know we’ll never be able to match them with money, so we’ll have to rely on grassroots people power instead — which means we all need to speak up to make our voices heard. Please make a call today.

Thanks,

Jamie Henn and the 350.org team

This is huge.

Two weeks ago we joined a diverse coalition to launch an all-out offensive to end fossil fuel subsidies, and we weren’t quite sure how it would turn out. Well, we’ve currently got 958,422 signatures on our combined global petition — almost a million people strong!

Will you help us get to a million by the end of the week?  Sign on here: www.350.org/rio

Once we get a million signatures, we’ll move on to phase two: a surround-sound campaign to put the pressure on world leaders at the G20 Summit in Mexico and at the “Rio+20 Earth Summit” coming up in Brazil. 

We’ll be honest: we won’t win the campaign to end fossil fuel subsidies with a petition alone — and we won’t be able to wrap this up by the end of the Rio Earth Summit. But being a million strong is a powerful starting point, and our massive numbers will send an unignorable message to world leaders. 

The truth is that ending these subsidies will take an ongoing and escalating campaign — which is why we’re digging deep on multiple fronts. As I type this, 350.org staff and volunteers are putting together a cutting-edge social media plan, planning a series of hard-hitting actions in countries around the world, and working on game-changing research that will expose just how massive the issue of subsidies is. 

Our work on subsidies will continue in the weeks and months ahead — but with the global summits in Mexico and Rio happening in just a few weeks, we have a unique moment to shine a light on a topic that all too often gets hidden and ignored. And we can’t ignore it any longer — the issue of subsidies is just too important. New research shows that getting rid of fossil fuel subsidies would lead to massive reductions in the emissions that are super-heating our planet — and could help level the economic playing field and trigger a clean energy revolution around the world. 

One more thing: we’re saving June 18 for something special. It’ll be the day when we’ll deliver our collective petition to world leaders, but also a day where we’ll try something a bit different — and a day to take our message to the halls of power in a brand new way. 

We’ll keep you posted on the next steps, but for now please help us reach the 1 million mark before the week is up: www.350.org/rio.

Onwards,

Will Bates for the 350.org Team

Articles and Info

Phasing out fossil fuel subsidies ‘could provide half of global carbon target’ |The Guardian go.350.org/M2kWyg

This is huge.

Two weeks ago we joined a diverse coalition to launch an all-out offensive to end fossil fuel subsidies, and we weren’t quite sure how it would turn out. Well, we’ve currently got 958,422 signatures on our combined global petition — almost a million people strong!

Will you help us get to a million by the end of the week?  Sign on here: www.350.org/rio

Once we get a million signatures, we’ll move on to phase two: a surround-sound campaign to put the pressure on world leaders at the G20 Summit in Mexico and at the “Rio+20 Earth Summit” coming up in Brazil. 

We’ll be honest: we won’t win the campaign to end fossil fuel subsidies with a petition alone — and we won’t be able to wrap this up by the end of the Rio Earth Summit. But being a million strong is a powerful starting point, and our massive numbers will send an unignorable message to world leaders. 

The truth is that ending these subsidies will take an ongoing and escalating campaign — which is why we’re digging deep on multiple fronts. As I type this, 350.org staff and volunteers are putting together a cutting-edge social media plan, planning a series of hard-hitting actions in countries around the world, and working on game-changing research that will expose just how massive the issue of subsidies is. 

Our work on subsidies will continue in the weeks and months ahead — but with the global summits in Mexico and Rio happening in just a few weeks, we have a unique moment to shine a light on a topic that all too often gets hidden and ignored. And we can’t ignore it any longer — the issue of subsidies is just too important. New research shows that getting rid of fossil fuel subsidies would lead to massive reductions in the emissions that are super-heating our planet — and could help level the economic playing field and trigger a clean energy revolution around the world. 

One more thing: we’re saving June 18 for something special. It’ll be the day when we’ll deliver our collective petition to world leaders, but also a day where we’ll try something a bit different — and a day to take our message to the halls of power in a brand new way. 

We’ll keep you posted on the next steps, but for now please help us reach the 1 million mark before the week is up: www.350.org/rio.

Onwards,

Will Bates for the 350.org Team

Articles and Info

Phasing out fossil fuel subsidies ‘could provide half of global carbon target’ |The Guardian go.350.org/M2kWyg