Traffic Blocked on the GW Parkway
People from across the country have gathered in Washington, D.C. to block traffic on George Washington Memorial Highway at 8:15 AM on April 26, 2023, demanding President Biden to declare a climate emergency.
The activists, supporters of the organization Declare Emergency, set up the road block in the week following Earth Day to protest the U.S. government’s failure to meaningfully act to avert the impending consequences of the climate crisis. This comes after previous roadblocks and disruptions throughout the week.
Billions of people will be affected by the climate emergency in the coming decades, with likely effects including displacement, food insecurity, and protracted military conflict, if significant action to mitigate it is not taken in the next 3-4 years. Declare Emergency and its supporters believe that, despite making promises during his presidential campaign, President Joe Biden has failed to keep many of his promises to take action on climate change, and that the best way to create systematic change is by participating in disciplined, protracted nonviolent civil disobedience. In setting up a road block during the week following Earth Day, the activists are sending a message to President Biden, reminding him of the urgency of the climate crisis and his earlier campaign promises.
ABOUT DECLARE EMERGENCY
Declare Emergency is a member of the A22 Network for Civil Resistance, an eleven-country coalition formed following the 1.2 degree Celsius increase in global average temperatures. Each member has a distinct policy demand from their respective governments. In the United States of America, Declare Emergency demands that President Biden declare a national climate emergency, and cease all extraction on federal and indigenous lands. https://www.declareemergency.org/
MEDIA CONTACTS
Nora Swisher (571) 432-6735
Timothy Martin (919) 815-7944
media@declareemergency.org
PHOTOS
All photos copyright Declare Emergency.
A22 NETWORK FOR CIVIL RESISTANCE
Media contacts and social media links for 11 International Campaigns
Read A22 Network’s Declaration on the Crisis