Activists with Greenpeace surrounded the US Chamber of Commerce headquarters in Washington DC with fake squad cars painted green-and-white and a fake ambulance labeled ‘Climate Emergency Response’. Yellow banners made to look like crime scene tape were thrown over the building’s façade.
“We’re asking the Chamber of Commerce to release our climate policy,” said Greenpeace activist Molly Dorozenski. “This is the scene of the crime.”
Greenpeace alleges that the US climate policy has been hijacked by industry lobbying and corporations. The action took place in vew of the White House.
“We’re hoping [Obama] sees this,” Dorozenski said. “We want him to stop listening to industry lobbyists and be a leader.”
The US Chamber of Commerce has come under criticism from environmentalists and some policymakers for opposing emissions regulations and pushing to hold a public hearing on the science of climate change. Several companies have quit the chamber in protest of its climate change stance including Apple, Exelon, PG&E Corp, and PNM Resources Inc.
Greenpeace said in a statement regarding the action that “the US Chamber of Commerce has committed a series of climate crimes including: misinformation of the public on the issue of climate change, stalling action on global warming legislation, and holding the international climate talks hostage. Activists are calling on President Obama to show leadership and shed the influence of lobbyists.”
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