Jongeren klagen Obama aan voor klimaatverandering

Gepubliceerd op 19-08-2015 om 07:00

19 augustus 2015 – Een groep jongeren van 8 tot 19 jaar klaagt Obama aan voor het schenden van hun rechten. De regering draag bij aan klimaatverandering door fossiele brandstofbedrijven te steunen, aldus de groep.

De groep van 21 jongeren wil dat de regering actie onderneemt en stelde een aanklacht op, met hulp van de organisatie Our Children’s Trust.

Grist vat de lijvige aanklacht samen in vier punten

‘(…)
1. The government has known about the climatic effects of carbon emissions for decades. There’s scientific consensus on climate change and ocean acidification, and the story is pretty awful.

2. In spite of the danger, the government encouraged and subsidized the fossil fuel industry. The continued authorization of new fossil fuel projects (like the proposed Jordan Cove natural gas export terminal in Oregon) will further harm the children in question.

3. Climate change disproportionately affects youth because they’ll live more of their lives in a turbulent world.

4. Mitigating the effects of climate change and shifting to clean energy is possible, and the government has admitted it is the trustee of the nation’s “air (atmosphere), seas, shores of the sea, water, and wildlife.” (…)’

Uit een bericht van the Huffington Post
‘(…) In response to the complaint, the Environmental Protection Agency defended its work to confront climate change, which it described as “the biggest environmental challenge we face.”
“That’s why President Obama launched the Climate Action Plan and why EPA is taking action with our Clean Power Plan: to give our kids and grandkids the cleaner, safer future they deserve,” Laura Allen, deputy press secretary for the EPA, said in a statement to The Huffington Post. “We have a moral obligation to leave a healthy planet for future generations.” (…)’