Movement. Good afternoon, welcome to the National Press club. The place where news happens. I am the 112 president of the National Press club and i am the investigation editor at the associated press. We have a terrific program ahead and we invite you to listen, watch and follow along on twitter at the npclive. In the audience today, there are members of the general public in addition to journalists. Any applause or reactions you hear are not necessarily from the working press. I would like to begin by introducing our head table, please hold your applause until all the head tables are introduced. Vall valerie jackson. A member of the National Journalism institute. Board of directors. Next is debbie. Adam eaton. A reporter at e e news. Next is Elizabeth Mcgowen a reporter at the energy news network. To my immediate right, a former npc president and the cochair that organized these events. We have amanda bennett, the director of voice of america and this years National Press club state honorary. Next to amanda is mary williams, james daughter. Next to mary, rebecca baker, shes Deputy Team Leader at Bloomberg Law and a past president for professional journalist. Gil kline, the university of oklahoma, Washington Bureau chief and pcs past president. Valerie hopkins. The correspondent at the financial pass. Thank you for being here. Actor jane fonda turns 82 this saturday. Pretty impressive, huh . [ applause ] however, she was in jail. Since she moved to washington in sech september, she engaged in what she calls the fire drills. Protest on Climate Change. Friday will mark her 11th protest and her fifth arrests. The idea she said came to her over Labor Day Weekend spent in big sur with friends and fellow actors. The burning case spur her into action. Last summer at my home state in california and young people like Greta Thunberg powerfully reminded us that we are the last generation that can prevent a catastrop catastrophe. I decided it was time for me to do more. The United States fonda says it is failing to act. Civic protests have defined her as much of an actress that brought her two Golden Globes and one emmy. But it is not always without controversies. During the tour in vietnam in 1872 to protest the war, fondas photo in hanoi appears to be aiming at american planes landed on the wrong side of public opinion, sidelined her career and stuck her with the nickname hanoi jam. It was a mistake she wrote that she will regret to her dying day. Changing climate, the world must address. Each of us one day will have to answer this question. What did i do to protect the planet for our children, grandchildren and so many precious species while we still have time . Please join me and welcoming jane fonda to our National Press club. [ applause ] thank you very much. Thank you for being here and thank you to the National Press club for having me here. Thanks to the Womens Media Center which i cofounded for a number of years ago. I lie in bed at night searching for the right words thatll galvanize people to action around the Climate Emergency and show them why it is too late for moderati moderation. I try out conversations what the fossil fuel industries have done for us. I get so worked up, i cant sleep. I tell my imaginary senator how back in july, 1977, james black, a Senior Scientist at exxon, the burning of fossil fuels influencing Global Climate that doubling co 2 gases in the atmosphere would increase Global Temperatures by 2 or 3 degrees and mankind had a small window of five to ten years before they would have to make hard decisions about new ways to get energy. Exxon knew 40 years ago. A decade later the fossil fuel industry scientists telling them the warm effects of their car go car Carbon Emissions could double. It would cause the disappearance of specific ecosystems, destructive flooding and low line farmlands. And that new source of fresh water would be rewired and dploe global changes and air temperatures would drastically change the way people live and work. The change may be the greatest recorded in history. The american midwest, other parts of the world would be desertlike. That was in the mid 1980s. You know what exxons executive says. This problem is not significant to mankind as a Nuclear Holocaust or world famine. And they continued to drill. Exxon, shell, mobil and others knew that their profit would not stand profitable unless the world understood the risks. They use the same consultants that Tobacco Company used to launch a huge communication effo effort, to develop strategies on how to fool us. Tobacco companies were primarily harming people who smoke. The fossil fuel companies are harming the entire planet and all its in habitants. The company not only hid what they knew. Spent tens of millions of dollars on think tanks like the Hartland Institute that promote false science and confusion about Global Warming so that people wont try to stop them. Their lines was and continue to be. Science about Climate Change is not clear and even if it were, the fault lies with the government and consumers and not with them. The thing is these Oil Companies have played a big role in actively stopping government r from enacting Clean Energy Policies with exxon leading the way, for example, exxon prevented the United States from signing the International Treaty known as the kyoto protocol to control greenhouse gases. Exxons tactic worked not only on the United States but also stopped other countries such as china and india from signing the treaty. This very year. Greenhouse gases hit the highest level ever recorded ever in human history. Our window to do anything is quick little closing. Fossil fuelling companies are expanding new drilling, mining, fracking and exports. Then there is plastic. Fearful that oil and Gas Exploration will be curtailed and wanting to maintain profits. Exxon actually proclaim recently our future is in plastics. Really . I mean really . They feel okay of saying a thing like that when we are facing the damage. Arctic e arctic ice sheets and water ways and on our entire species. Their newest attempt to fossil fuel production and infrastructures include the American Petroleum institute released a video called Americas Energy security, a generation of progress at risks. The video shows American Flag and statue of liberty making fracking and drilling patriotic and ban on them somehow weak weakening the country. The oil and gas industry like to say natural gas is a Bridge Energy that has a role in reducing Carbon Emissions but they ignored fracking contributions to increase highly dangerous Global Warming methane emissions. They denied the seismic danger of fracking, at the pollution of precious under water that provides Drinking Water to millions of people. A Coalition Calls pennsylvania against fracking is advocating for a fracking auditorium in their state and following visits from families of rare Cancer Patients announced nearly 4 million in funding for studies on the Health Impact of fracking. The fossil fuel industry has gotten the senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute which is paid for to warn for a global recession should the u. S. Ban fracking. The Manhattan Institute says the democratic president ial candidates climate claim are quote, pure fantasy and moving to Renewable Energy is not possible given todays technology and basic physics. They referenced notorious, the empowerment alliance. Several republicans, senator pat toomey introduced by the way, just so you know toomeys reelection against the progressive democrats was largely financed by Michael Bloomberg. Officials like senator toomey tells us that american oil and Gas Production is the only path to Energy Security. This narrative is add odds with the fact that we export so much gas and oil, i mean if we needed for Energy Security, what are we doing shipping overseas . This narrative also ignores the fact that 100 Renewal Energy which over 100 u. S. Cities have already committed to also creates Energy Security and dependence and for a comparable or lower price. Climate scientists are very clear. We can transition to newer newer newer newer forming emissions and resource extractions and a catalyst for a green economic transition, labor rights improvements and poverty elimination. We just have to break the strangle hold that the fossil fuel industry has on our government. Will we continue to allow these executives who committed crimes against humanity and the earth to keep on doing it . Not just with oil and gas and coal but with plastics, dangerous fertilizers and pesticid pesticides. Most americans realized that we are paying them to do this with subsidies more than 16 billion a year, our taxpayers money. Oil change International Says 45 of their existing drilling would not guilbe profitable wit these subsidies. We cant allow this to continue. The fossil fuel industry has controlled the u. S. Government and too many governments for too long. This is the last possible moment in history when changing course can mean saving lives and experti species on a unimaginable scale. Last year the Governmental Panel on change published its report. The worsening disasters we are already seeing and the additional warming thats already bake d in because we di not act 40 years ago. We dont stand a chance, a changing course in time without profound, systematic economic and social change. And they said we have it best 11 years before the Tipping Point is reached. 11 years to reduce fossil fuel emissions roughly in half and then continue to reduce to net zero by 2050. Yes, we are facing a climate crisis. We are also facing an empathy crisis and inequality crisis. It is not only the earth life support system that are unraveling. The fabric of our society is unraveling. It is going to take an all out war on drilling and fracking and deregulation and racism and colonialism and despair all at the same time. Now, some people say we cant deal with it all. When we try to solve problems with inequality and in justice that it never works. The problem we as we are facing require all of us to join the fight. Fossil fuel workers must continue to earn good union wages and benefits. In people of color have to see they we dont want be viewed as sacrificed or cancercausing waste from the Oil Industries getting dumped. There will be a plan to invest in their communities to rebuild and restore. All you have to do is look at what happens when there is no plan that sercenters workers. Look at how people have been treated in former coal countries. Suffering from lung disease, many are too old to be trained for jobs. With healthcare and pensions being cut . The fossil fuel industry leaves 11 trillion of fracking in the future. These are called stranded assets. Their workers must never be stranded assets. Thats why those who are working to address the Climate Emergency supporting the Green New Deal. This is what provides the framework to bring all of us together into a sustainable future. Proposals that dont set fairness and justice will not pass. Yes, it will be a huge disruptive super ambitious under taken and yes, it will cause a who whole lot of money. The last three years of the total cost of a billion dollars, weather and climate events exceeded 450 billion. We cant find the money. And remember this country is kind of been here before. In the 1930s, a massive financial collapse. It was also an environmental collapse and my dad started a movie that shows what happened to foreigners. And it was a time of huge social unrest of labor protests and riots and in the streets of a grown inequality, demanding the government stepping up with large Scale Program to help alleviate the hardship. Do you know what roosevelt said to them, i agree with you, go out and make me do it. It is really important that we remember that. They wont do it unless we make them. So they did. With the force of public pressure behind them, president roosevelt launched the new deal. It was largely by executive order, roosevelt created Government Spending programs that millions of people in hundreds of public projects back to work across the country. The civilian conservation employed 3 million young men to restore the great plains. Thousands of farmers could move away from places that could not support them onto fertile lands into towns or cities, they became the new american little class. The associate Social Security administration that we have. This is the kind of brave leadership that we need to see for our next president. On december 9th, just this last december 9th, a consortium of policy experts that released a plan taking actions starting day one to confront the Climate Emergency without waiting for congress. By the time of the inauguration, well have ten years left to reduce fossil fuels by half and we are saying to the next president , we have ten years, you have ten days, ten executive actions to do in ten days to make history and make change course from the climate. The actions included in a media halt and new fossil fuel. Use the Clean Air Act to slash greenhouse pollution and a prosecution of fossil fuel polluters. The plan urges the next president to ensure and protect workers and communities, disproportionately harm by the car gone pollution economy. The plan is intended to work alongside actions taken by congress, state and local government as well as international partners. The rich and powerful hated the new deal. Hated roosevelt because it sets a precedent for the government to play a central role for economic and social affairs of the nation. It was criticized as socialist. Bankers triied to overthrow roosevelt, big business and big railers against him. There were millions of people in the streets demanding that roosevelt do more because it was helping them and because of that, it succeeded. The same interests that hated the new deal are the ones telling us today that the Green New Deal is bad that government should not be so involved in economic and social regulation and they convince a lot of people of this. Big government is evil they say but it is not the size of the government that matters. It is who the government is working for. And for too long, it has been a government controlled corporation, those fossil fuel industries. This is why it has not been working for working people. And powerful forces are against the efforts to change this. Just like back in the 1930s. Already there is a branch of new laws supporting and happening across the country thats criminalize protests aimed at fossil fuel and infrastructure. These laws are called Critical Infrastructure laws. Since they reclassified fossil fuel and infrastructure as critical. In order to justify harsh penalties around advocates and exercising their Constitutional Rights to peaceful protest. This is a huge problem. Scientists say we need to cut fossil fuels in half. Protesting the expansion of fossil fuel is being crimin criminaliz criminalized. The fact is the Green New Deal are in line of what American People have already done when there was no choice and there is no choice. Have we known that the fossil fuel industry in the 1970s, we could have begun a nice, black and white and incremental transition of a new economy off of fossil fuels. They lied and they hid the science and as a result, we lost decades. And our carbon budget, the amount of budget we cant still burn without passing the Tipping Point. Now because of the fossil fuel industry, it is too late for moderation. And given the emergency it is those in believe in moderation in pretrump business as usual who are truly delusional and those who lie and helicoptconti lie of what they are doing. They should not be awarded with tax cuts and secretary of state. I beg people to think about how they can ratchet their activism on climate. Not as individual but in with others, which will wake more people of urgency and the focus of changing policies, shifting power and electing brave people who are not scared in the face of the c