In response to devastating recent floods in Spain, Steve Trent, CEO and Founder of the Environmental Justice Foundation, said:

“First and foremost, we should all be thinking of the people in Spain affected by these catastrophic floods. Families have lost loved ones, lives have been upended, and the full effects are still unknown. This is a painful reminder that the climate crisis is not a distant threat, it’s reality today. The question isn’t whether these disasters will become more common, but how much worse they’ll get if we don’t finally end the era of fossil fuels now.”

“We are in a critical moment in the fight against climate breakdown, but our leaders are asleep at the wheel. 1.5C was the agreed target of the Paris climate talks, but we are on course for a minimum of 2.6C under current policies, and that’s if they are actually met. Each day we delay, each fraction of a degree we allow global temperatures to rise, is a direct threat to the future of life on Earth. The more we allow fossil fuels to proliferate, the more we take from the bank of nature without giving anything back, the more severe and frequent events like this will become.”

“COP29 in Azerbaijan must mark a turning point. We need clear, immediate action to end our dependence on fossil fuels and get us to real zero emissions by 2035. Anything less is a dereliction of duty and a betrayal of the people our leaders say they represent.”

“We have all the solutions we need. Green, clean energy can power our planet, nature can help us pull carbon out of the atmosphere, and we can leave climate chaos behind. As the recent events in Spain demonstrate, action to combat global heating should not be viewed as a cost, rather the biggest cost saving in human history. Now is the time for real leadership. The world is watching."

ENDS

Notes to editors

EJF works internationally to inform policy and drive systemic, durable reforms to protect our environment and defend human rights. We investigate and expose abuses and support environmental defenders, Indigenous peoples, communities, and independent journalists on the frontlines of environmental injustice. Our campaigns aim to secure peaceful, equitable, and sustainable futures.

Our investigators, researchers, filmmakers, and campaigners work with grassroots partners and environmental defenders across the globe. Our work to secure environmental justice aims to protect our global climate, ocean, forests, wetlands, wildlife and defend the fundamental human right to a secure natural environment, recognising that all other rights are contingent on this.

For more information or to speak to one of our expert staff, please email media@ejfoundation.org.

Image credit: Eidursson, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons