Green Party Leaders to Climate Justice Movement: Make Us Your ‘Political Home’

The Green Party is set to hold its presidential nominating convention in Houston, Texas, at the beginning of August, and leaders within the party are reaching out in the hope of creating alliances. Margaret Flowers and James Lane, honorary co-chairs of the convention, have published an open letter to activists in the climate justice movement.

In the letter, Flowers and Lane outline how the Democratic Party has failed to adequately address environmental concerns and explain why the Green Party deserves the support of everyone who is passionate about climate justice. “International agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, which are being rammed through by the Obama Administration, will drive greater exports of oil and gas,” they wrote. “This means more drilling, fracking, pipelines, compressor stations, etc. New goals for renewable energy and control of methane can best be described as ‘too little, too late.’ ”

They continued:

The climate justice movement has realized its power by working outside of and applying pressure on the system. We believe that in this election year and going forward, it is critical that we also develop electoral power outside of the traditional system by building an alternative political party that embraces our values. The Green Party is founded on four pillars: nonviolence, social justice, sustainability and grassroots democracy and ten key values, one of which is ecological wisdom. …

We invite you to consider the Green Party as a political home for the climate justice movement. We are grassroots activists who work on many issues of economic, racial and environmental justice and peace. We welcome your participation in leadership roles and as candidates for office. We have more than 150 candidates this year running at all levels of government.

Read the full open letter here.

—Posted by Emma Niles