“It’s been a summer of scorching heat waves that have shattered records, relentless wildfires that have led to mass casualties, and raised sea levels that are encroaching upon our city’s edges – these are not isolated incidents, but urgent calls to action. In NYC we passed the most important city-level climate and jobs law with Local Law 97, but it won’t be enough to meet the global climate emergency. The time for complacency from so-called leaders has passed. With 500 organizations strong, the March to End Fossil Fuels isn’t a request, it’s a demand for President Biden to enact actionable solutions that match the scale of the crisis at hand,” said Olivia Leirer, Co-Executive Director of New York Communities for Change.
Organizers of the March to End Fossil Fuels today announced that 500 organizations have endorsed the upcoming mobilization on September 17 in New York City.
Groups including the NAACP, Sierra Club, and Sunrise Movement have signed on to support the march and its demands for Pres. Biden to take bold action on fossil fuels in the wake of a deadly, record-breaking summer of extreme heat and climate disasters. They join the key groups organizing the march, including the Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Popular Democracy, Climate Organizing Hub, Food & Water Watch, Fridays For Future USA & NYC, Earthworks, Greenfaith, Indigenous Environmental Network, New York Communities for Change, Oil Change International and Oil & Gas Action Network.
In addition to the 500 groups supporting the march, nationally recognized leaders including Sen. Ed Markey, Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Jamaal Bowman, Tennessee State Rep. Justin Pearson, former President of Ireland and Chair of The Elders Mary Robinson, Jane Fonda, Naomi Klein, Mark Ruffalo, and Bill McKibben are backing the march. More than 10,000 people from across the country are expected to attend, including Goldman Prize winners Nalleli Cobo and Sharon Lavigne, UN youth adviser Ayisha Siddiqa, scientist Peter Kalmus, Gulf Coast leaders John Beard, Jr. and Roishetta Ozane, and Mountain Valley Pipeline fighters including Crystal Cavalier from Appalachia.
“The current reliance on fossil fuels is literally killing Black Americans. Black elders are three times more likely to die from air quality-related issues and Black youth continue to suffer the impacts of living in communities that are more likely to house fossil fuel plants and other toxic waste incinerators. This is an emergency. For Black communities to have any hope of a just and sustainable future, we must act now,” said Abre’ Conner, NAACP Director for the Center for Environmental and Climate Justice. “The NAACP is marching to demand a global and domestic emphasis on climate and racial justice, Black health, and a future that prioritizes not shortens Black life.”
The march will start at 1pm. We will gather at 56th Street and Broadway between 12 and 1pm. The best way to join the march is to take the subway to Columbus Circle (A, B, C, D, or 1 trains) and move south on Broadway towards 56th.
The march will go down Broadway to 52nd Street, then head east on 52nd to 1st Ave. This route is about 1.5 miles. We will close with a rally at 1st Ave and 50th Street, near UN headquarters. The rally will end around 4:30pm.