Dear friends,
It’s hard to know what to say in a moment like this. Many of us are reeling from the news and shaken to the core about what a Trump Presidency in the United States will mean, and the difficult work ahead for the global climate movement.
Trump’s misogyny, racism, and climate denial pose a profound threat to all of us, everywhere. The battleground on which we’ll fight for justice of all kinds will be that much rougher.
But many of you reading this live in countries that have also gone through political turmoil, upheavals, and tragedies worse than Trump. Here in the U.S., we’re looking to your perseverance, dedication, and hope today.
The hardest thing to do right now is to hold on to hope, but it’s what we must do. We should feel our anger, mourn, pray, and then do everything we can to fight hate and oppression. We must stand strong and united all over the world.
Many of our team members are in Marrakesh, Morocco, today. They’re there for COP22, to help make sure the promise of the Paris Climate Agreement turns into action. Our team in Marrakesh is fighting for zero new fossil fuel infrastructure — and yesterday’s outcome in the U.S. makes that work more important, not less.
When times get tough, it’s crucial to remember: we are in this together, and when we mobilize, we are capable of the unimaginable. No one man — no matter how cruel or powerful — can take that away.
Here’s what I’m keeping in mind right now:
- This is a global movement. It’s more important than ever to remember our connection with people in literally every country who are fighting the fossil fuel industry right now — many in the toughest conditions imaginable. I believe in our collective power like nothing else.
- The fossil fuel industry is in a fight for its life. When we expose their lies, stop their pipelines, divest from their stocks and take away their social license — they fight back. Their investment in this election was no secret, and they’re going to double-down in its aftermath. We need to be prepared.
- Local fossil fuel resistance is taking root everywhere. Campaigns against fracking, pipelines, and coal are too many to name. None of those campaigns are ending today. None of us are giving up or going home.
There is no denying the fact that our job is harder today.
But tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that, the movements for climate justice, for racial justice, for immigrant justice, and for democracy will step into our power together. The people who want justice represent a force too great to ignore.
It will take all of us. But together, we can — and we will — blaze a bright path through this dark day. The power is in our hands.
With hope and resolve,