11/08/2023
BREAKING: A massive 70' banner has been hung across the Bay Bridge - demanding an End To - days before President Joe Biden and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders meet in San Francisco.
San Francisco – Activists with the Oil and Gas Action Network have hung a massive 75-foot banner across the Bay Bridge during peak rush hour in advance of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco next week. The banner is viewable to motorists traveling west-bound from Oakland towards Treasure Island.
The banner reads “Biden & APEC: End Fossil Fuels” - calling on world leaders to honor their commitments to the Paris climate accord, which makes clear that we must rapidly phase out fossil fuels. The action is part of a wave of protests that will sweep San Francisco next week as the APEC summit brings 21 heads of state, including U.S. President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and 1,200 CEOs together to negotiate international trade policy.
President Biden has come under consistent fire for his administration’s approval of massive new fossil fuel projects, including the Willow Pipeline in Alaska and the Mountain Valley Pipeline in Appalachia. Additionally, under President Biden, U.S. exports of crude oil are at historic levels, surpassing the Trump-era record. APEC member countries cover nearly 60% of the world’s energy economy, and proposals such as the controversial Calcasieu Pass 2 (CP2) liquified natural gas terminal in Louisiana are focused on supplying export markets across the APEC region.
Organizers say that the U.S. must end fossil fuel production domestically, and support global efforts to remedy the historic inequities of pollution and exploitation of workers.
“Our collective humanity is at stake. Corporations and global leaders have been exploiting people and the planet for profit with the military as their enforcers. We refuse to allow President Biden and other APEC leaders to continue business-as-usual in the face of record-breaking extreme weather and the existential threats of the climate crisis. They must prioritize a rapid transition away from fossil fuels, and center the voices of frontline communities in building a new clean energy economy,” said Khrizia Velacruz with Oil and Gas Action Network.
In September, 75,000 people marched in New York at the United Nations General Assembly, explicitly calling for an end to the fossil fuel era. The UN Secretary General has stated that fossil fuels were “...incompatible with human survival” and that we must “leave oil, coal and gas in the ground where they belong” - echoing the consensus from the world’s leading scientists.
“The Bay Area is taking a stand against the politicians and corporate interests who are directly responsible for the social and environmental ills plaguing our world today. Their greed and self interest coupled with their complete disregard for a vibrant future is the backdrop for the many overlapping injustices we’re seeing today from ongoing genocide, to utter environmental destruction and the persecution of the working class,” said Nik Evasco, Climate Organizer with the No2APEC Climate Bloc.
“Over 40 climate justice organizations have come together to demand Biden and APECleaders take bold action to combat climate change. We need to end climate pollution,globalize climate justice, and stop trade attacks on climate action,” said Will Wiltschko, coordinator of Bay Climate Action.
A coalition of several hundred organizations are expected to protest APEC next week, with concerns ranging from climate change, workers’ rights, economic inequality, human rights, and more. Local residents and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors have raised concerns about the local impacts of the meetings that will make significant parts of the city inaccessible. Both the San Francisco and Alameda County labor councils have passed resolutions critical of the APEC summit as well. Major protest movements include:
*November 9th - Rally outside IPEF negotiations (10:30am at Yerba Buena Gardens)
*November 12th - No To APEC march (12:00pm at Harry Bridges Plaza / Embarcadero)
*November 15th - Mass Direct Action at the APEC CEO summit (7:00 am at Powell & Market St.)
APEC is a group of 21 member economies, including the U.S., China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia,Australia, the Philippines and more, aimed at promoting free trade throughout the Asia Pacific region. Amajor focus of the APEC meetings next week is the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) - a new tradeproposal that, if enacted, would set rules governing roughly 40% of the global economy. However, civilsociety groups across the region say that APEC meetings are putting corporate profits ahead of concernsaround climate change, workers’ rights, economic inequality and more.
For images and updates about this action and other APEC protests, please visit:
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