10 signatures reached
To: Green Peace, Friends of the Earth, Oxfam, & Doctors Without Borders
Publicly Oppose the Venezuelan Coup to Prevent Climate Change
To issue a public statement denoucing & opposing the cynical movements being made by the Trump Administration and the United States government in general to instigate a coup in Venezuela, all in an effort to help privatise Venezuela's vast oil reserves for US corporate interests. This statement will also call for similar environmentalist organisations to do the same.
Why is this important?
The majority of wars fought over the last 30+ years have been over access to and exploitation of fossil fuels. This has been an open secret, yet has received insufficient opposition from an environmentalist perspective.
As regions around the world become environmentally unstable, they also become politically and economically unstable. We cannot deny that a link between aggressive foreign policy and climate change is becoming ever more apparent.
The US, in particular, has an extensive history of toppling governments for fossil fuel-related motivations. The coup in Venezuela is no different. Regardless of how you feel about the current Venezuelan government, the potential for the privatisation of oil in the country by a possible Guaido government, backed by the US, will be a major loss for the planet.
John Bolton, Donald Trump's National Security Advisor, has even openly admitted that supporting the coup is motivated by getting at the country's oil, as he unwittingly revealed in a Fox Business Network interview:
"We're in conversation with major American companies now that are either in Venezuela or, in the case of CITGO, here in the United States. I think we're trying to get to the same result here. It'll make a big difference to the United States economically if we could have American oil companies invest in and produce the oil capabilities in Venezuela".
Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world. Enough to keep us burning dirty energy well past the point of no return of 12 years as warned by the IPCC. If we want to radically reduce carbon emissions, standing idly by while Venezuela's publicly-owned oil gets carved up by encroaching foreign fossil fuel companies is going to make the problem even worse.
This is why we need to rally action on this issue and highlight its environmental aspect that is barely getting any attention. We can make this the start of a movement to apply public pressure and prevent an escalation of such behaviour. That includes any possibility of a direct invasion of the country the US government. This should be done both in the name of peace and the planet.
At the same time, we could urge the Venezuelan government itself to diversify away from their dependency on these oil reserves and move towards renewable energy ASAP, setting a major example for other governments in the region.
We are in an era of climate change wars, where governments are willing to do anything to fight over ever-dwindling scraps of fossil fuels. Even if it means violating international law, spreading misinformation, using sanctions & market forces as political leverage, or simply tweeting a president into existence. All the while the planet becomes less habitable and everyone will be left to bear the consequences of such actions.
In short, if you believe in keeping fossil fuels in the ground, then we must not allow private interests to take it out of the ground in Venezuela. The first step in doing so is to publicly oppose it and push back from an environmental standpoint. #StoptheCoup
As regions around the world become environmentally unstable, they also become politically and economically unstable. We cannot deny that a link between aggressive foreign policy and climate change is becoming ever more apparent.
The US, in particular, has an extensive history of toppling governments for fossil fuel-related motivations. The coup in Venezuela is no different. Regardless of how you feel about the current Venezuelan government, the potential for the privatisation of oil in the country by a possible Guaido government, backed by the US, will be a major loss for the planet.
John Bolton, Donald Trump's National Security Advisor, has even openly admitted that supporting the coup is motivated by getting at the country's oil, as he unwittingly revealed in a Fox Business Network interview:
"We're in conversation with major American companies now that are either in Venezuela or, in the case of CITGO, here in the United States. I think we're trying to get to the same result here. It'll make a big difference to the United States economically if we could have American oil companies invest in and produce the oil capabilities in Venezuela".
Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world. Enough to keep us burning dirty energy well past the point of no return of 12 years as warned by the IPCC. If we want to radically reduce carbon emissions, standing idly by while Venezuela's publicly-owned oil gets carved up by encroaching foreign fossil fuel companies is going to make the problem even worse.
This is why we need to rally action on this issue and highlight its environmental aspect that is barely getting any attention. We can make this the start of a movement to apply public pressure and prevent an escalation of such behaviour. That includes any possibility of a direct invasion of the country the US government. This should be done both in the name of peace and the planet.
At the same time, we could urge the Venezuelan government itself to diversify away from their dependency on these oil reserves and move towards renewable energy ASAP, setting a major example for other governments in the region.
We are in an era of climate change wars, where governments are willing to do anything to fight over ever-dwindling scraps of fossil fuels. Even if it means violating international law, spreading misinformation, using sanctions & market forces as political leverage, or simply tweeting a president into existence. All the while the planet becomes less habitable and everyone will be left to bear the consequences of such actions.
In short, if you believe in keeping fossil fuels in the ground, then we must not allow private interests to take it out of the ground in Venezuela. The first step in doing so is to publicly oppose it and push back from an environmental standpoint. #StoptheCoup
