Tens of thousands gathered in the streets of Midtown Manhattan in New York City despite the harsh sun on Sunday and demanded global officials end using fossil fuels as part of a climate protest.
The demands urge lawmakers to quickly pivot away from using the power source as it is causing the dangerous heating of the Earth. Many of the people's anger was directed towards United States President Joe Biden, who was set to arrive in the city on Sunday before the United Nations General Assembly session that would start on Tuesday.
New York City Climate Protest
In a statement, 17-year-old Emma Buretta, a New York City high school student and an organizer with the Fridays for Future movement, said that the Democratic leader should be scared of them. She shouted at a rally ahead of the march and argued that he should end using fossil fuels if he wanted their vote.
The Biden administration has shepherded through what is considered the country's most ambitious climate law and is trying to transition to wind, solar, and other renewable energy, as per the New York Times.
However, the administration has also continued to approve permits for new oil and gas drilling, in most instances because it was mandated under American law. The situation has angered many of the Democrat's traditional supporters as well as lawmakers on the left flank of the Democratic Party. The latter wants the president to declare a climate emergency and block new fossil fuel production.
New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) also drew applause when she spoke at the end of the march. During her remarks, she described climate action as an "electoral and a popular force that cannot be ignored."
While the climate activists suggested their support for Biden in 2024 would depend on the latter's more aggressive climate action, none of the Republican candidates running for the next presidential race have issued plans to cut the nation's emissions, and several said they want to encourage more drilling.
Demanding an End to Fossil Fuels
AOC said they were all at the rally for one reason: to end the use of fossil fuels around the planet. According to The Guardian, she added that they want to create an urgency to encourage people worldwide to take to the streets.
The progressive Democrat added that the U.S. continues to approve a record number of fossil fuel leases. She argued that they need to send a message: despite record profits, the support for the fossil fuel industry is starting to decline.
The energy justice director of the Center for Biological Diversity and one of the organizers of the march in New York City, Jean Su, said that the protest was clear about what needs to be done to address the climate issue, which is the end of fossil fuels.
The incident comes after a summer marked by extreme weather events many believe were exacerbated by climate change. According to NPR, there were historic heat waves in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, a deadly wildfire in Maui, and catastrophic flooding in Brazil, China, and Libya.
