Veterans For Peace Statement on recent UN Climate Conference
VFP Statement on Results of COP26
If COP26 is the “last best hope for the world” as Climate Envoy John Kerry stated, the USA is largely responsible for the failure to achieve that “hope.” President Biden says the USA is “… leading by the power of our example”. The Veterans For Peace Climate Crisis & Militarism Project (CCMP) believes that the USA’s poor “example” led to the half-measures achieved at COP26.
- Why should other nations, both USA’s friends and foes, prioritize action on climate when the USA spends more in one year on so-called “defense” than the total 10-year funding for climate action proposed in Biden’s Build Back Better plan?
- Biden’s promised doubling of funds “…by 2024 to $11.4 billion per year to help developing nations deal with climate change,” is less than the funds added by Congress to an already bloated FY 2022 military budget.
In his address at COP26, President Biden stated the climate crisis poses “…the existential threat to human existence as we know it.” Unfortunately, the actions of the Biden administration are not just inadequate, they are counterproductive. How can other countries trust the intentions of the U.S. government to prioritize a meaningful response to climate change when the U.S. expends vast resources on maintaining its global military dominance? Without the trust of other nations, the USA cannot expect international cooperation in what should be a shared effort to meaningfully address the climate crisis.
The Climate Crisis & Militarism Project of Veterans For Peace invites you to urge your Member of Congress (MOC) to cosponsor H Res 767: Department of Defense to reduce the overall environmental impact of all military activities and missions, and for other purposes.
Take action!
-- Jim Albertini Malu 'Aina Center For Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box 489 Ola'a (Kurtistown) Hawai'i 96760 Phone 808-966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.org Visit us on the web at www.malu-aina.org
