Following Trump’s strikes on Venezuela and his escalating threats to Greenland, 125 European and international civil society groups sent a letter to EU leaders to urge them to cancel negotiation and implementation of the US-EU trade deal, and reduce reliance on US fossil fuels in solidarity with those threatened by Trump’s fossil-fueled imperialism. The letter argues that every Euro spent on US fossil fuels, and every fossil fuel investment made by European companies and banks in the United States, fuels Trump’s authoritarian agenda at home and his imperial ambitions abroad. Emphasising that Europe prides itself on being a leader in upholding international law and democracy, and defending human rights and climate action, the letter stresses that EU leaders must now take a strong stand against Trump – just as they did towards Putin.
“Trump is hijacking the world with his trade threats, territorial claims and invasions. The EU should stop playing along with his game and take a strong stance against it. Any other approach is doomed to fail and will only convince Trump that the EU is weak. We call on the European Parliament to reject an already very damaging trade deal with the US,” says Paul de Clerck, economic justice coordinator at Friends of the Earth Europe.
The signatories also highlight that Trump is using the threat of economically devastating tariffs to ensure the EU would agree to import $750 billion of US energy products over the next three years – a deal many analysts say would risk creating yet another dangerous dependency for Europe while also leading to the weakening or abandoning of crucial climate and human rights legislation in the EU. Increased reliance on expensive, highly polluting US fossil fuels will also worsen the climate crisis, and is expected to raise energy prices for EU households, up to one in four of whom are already unable to afford to adequately heat, cool, or light their homes.
“To resist Trump’s imperialism and not be held hostage by geopolitical shifts, Europe must reject the US-EU ‘deal’. If lived up to, it would only serve to undermine the EU’s climate objective by being forced to triple its US LNG energy imports. Rather than encouraging the US fossil fuel industry, the EU needs to shift to an energy model based on renewables, which are more reliable, green and affordable than fossil gas,” says Julie Zalcman, Climate Justice strategy campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe.
The letter, signed by organisations including Friends of the Earth Europe, Oil Change International, Centre for International Environmental Law, Greenpeace International, Urgewald, Conexiones Climáticas, PowerShift, European Trade Justice Coalition, and networks such as Pax Christi International, and EU-Lat network, concludes that the EU must courageously oppose Trump’s fossil fuel agenda and defend people, our planet, and the rule of law.
It demands EU leaders:
- Stand in solidarity with the Latin American nations threatened by the United States and other manifestations of imperial force, and to stand against all forms of oppression affecting local communities, as in the specific case of Venezuela
- Stand in solidarity with Greenland. It is up to its people – and only them – to decide on their future
- Put forth a motion at the United Nations that condemns the US’ blatant violations of international law
- Immediately cancel negotiations and implementation of the US-EU trade deal
- Engage with EU Member States to renew the European Green Deal and establish a binding roadmap for the phase-out of fossil gas, in particular US liquefied natural gas (LNG)
- Engage with EU Member States to appropriately terminate existing, and prevent new long-term contracts for the import or financing of US LNG
- Defend the existing EU Methane Regulation and ensure a strong and robust implementation that applies to imports
- Support the First International Conference on the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels organized by the governments of Colombia and the Netherlands
The full letter uging decisionmakers to resist Trump’s fossil-fuelled imperialism can be accessed, read and downloaded here.
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