Hill Heat

Taking part in the largest climate march in history, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said that Wall Street bankers will only act on climate change if people organize to make them do so. He also expressed succinctly the climate-policy challenge: “We have to stop CO2 from hurtling into the atmosphere.”

During the PeoplesClimate.tv livestream of the People’s Climate March, Hill Heat’s Brad Johnson caught up with Schumer as he chatted with billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer. The senator said that action from pension funds is needed to get Wall Street to stop financing fossil fuels, because the bankers will not lead.

“The leadership has to come from the people,” Schumer told me. “Pension funds could do a lot.”

Wall Street plays a tremendous role making New York one of the richest cities in the world. It drives the global economy, which is powered on fossil fuels. Even as Mayor DeBlasio is working to decarbonize the city’s energy supply, carbon financier David Koch is the richest man in the city. Meaningful global action on climate change, the type Schumer called for, will require Wall Street to fully divest from financing the fossil-fuel industry. Although pension-fund and other private action is helpful, what is truly needed is legislative action from Congress.

PeoplesClimate.tv is a project of Act.tv, the web video activism site.

Transcript:

“I think the First Amendment is a little more important than traffic.”

With those words, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio vigorously defended #FloodWallStreet, the Occupy-style climate civil disobedience action that took place Monday on Wall Street.

De Blasio’s remarks came in a press conference after he addressed the United Nations climate summit on Tuesday.

Asked if he thought “the protests are at all going too far,” de Blasio expressed his disagreement.

No, I can’t say they’re going too far. I think, first of all, the issue is one of tremendous urgency and whenever you have an urgent issue, people utilize civil disobedience. It’s not a new phenomenon. I thought, clearly, we had a situation where it was civil disobedience as it’s supposed to be, meaning it was peaceful, the police handled it beautifully, and those who really wanted to get arrested got arrested. That was their choice. They were given every opportunity to not get arrested, but they chose to. But I think these are the kind of issues that bring out incredibly strong passions and they should – this is about the survival of the earth.

“The right of people to make their voices heard, regardless of their views, is a fundamental American value,” de Blasio continued. “And we’ll protect that value. I think there’s going to be times, in this city – because we’re an international capital – where we’ll see protests that create inconvenience, but again, it’s part of our responsibility as the hosts of the United Nations to handle that appropriately.”

De Blasio was similarly forceful in his support for the People’s Climate March, in which he participated. “This is not the first time you’ve seen a scenario where the people are leading and the leaders have to get out of the way and follow the will of the people,” he said. “I think there’s been a bad stereotype in public debate that the policy-makers have to somehow pull the people along and the people were unwilling to make change. I actually think the people – years ago – recognized what a profound threat the earth faces and are very comfortable that we have to make change and are ready to do what it takes.”

Transcript:

Occupy Wall Street activists are planning to “occupy” the United Nations Climate Summit.

According to Popular Resistance, a website associated with some members of the Occupy Wall Street collective in New York City, activists meeting in Zucotti Park agreed to attempt an occupation of the Dag Hammerskold Plaza in front of UN headquarters.

The civil disobedience assembly is scheduled to begin during the People’s Climate March taking place several blocks west on Sunday, September 21, and continue until the conclusion of the UN Climate Summit on Wednesday.

The text of the press release is below:

Below is a partial list of People’s Climate March blocs meeting before the march begins Sunday.

Indigenous People’s Gathering In Central Park next to Heckscher Playground, starting at 6:30 am

Labor Rally On Broadway, sound system at 57th Street Begins at 11 am.

Interfaith Religious Service On 58th Street, between 8th and 9th Ave. Begins at 11 am.

Food Justice On CPW at 71 St., north side of the intersection

Nuclear Free, Carbon Free On CPW at 73rd St., north side of the intersection

Sierra Club Solutions Rally On CPW at 75th St., north side of the intersection

Peace and Justice On CPW at 77 St., north side of the intersection

Anti-Fracking On CPW at 80th St., north side of the intersection

Science Stands At Hayden Planetarium, American Museum of Natural History (CPW & 81st)

Bike Bloc On CPW at 74th St, 10:30 am

For more information:

[email protected] (914) 719-6672