Hillary Clinton: Refuse Fossil-Fuel Money

At a Hillary Clinton rally on March 31, the presidential candidate lost her patience with a young Greenpeace activist, who thanked Clinton for her commitment to climate change and then asked her whether she'll reject fossil-fuel money. Pointing her finger at the activist, Secretary Clinton said she was "so sick of the Sanders campaign lying about me."

The reason Clinton was asked this question wasn’t because of a lying Bernie Sanders, but because of her own political record.

Here are some facts:

Clinton’s official campaign agenda supports new fracking and other fossil-fuel projects in the United States and around the world.

Unlike Sanders, Clinton has not signed the Fix Democracy pledge which rejects fossil-fuel money.

Eleven lobbyists who represent fossil-fuel companies have bundled $1.4 million for the Clinton campaign. Three of the lobbyists primarily represent fossil-fuel companies, and two more exclusively represent fossil-fuel companies: one is a Cheniere Energy lobbyist, and one an ExxonMobil lobbyist.

Hedge-fund and private-equity financiers who have billions of dollars at stake in the fossil-fuel industry are investing millions of dollars in Clinton's campaign.

Of course, the vast preponderance of fossil-fuel money is invested in Republicans, the party of climate denial. There are many committed climate and clean-energy activists who are strong and influential Clinton supporters.

But global warming isn’t going to stop until we stop burning fossil fuels. We need to divest and invest: to redirect all—not just some—of the billions financing the fossil-fuel industry into financing a clean, just national infrastructure.

Now, state attorneys general are investigating ExxonMobil’s climate deception and scientists are revealing the true climate costs of methane leakage. The fracking boom and bust has left millions of American workers and their families in dire economic straits and frightening health consequences. The time is right for the Democratic Party to cut ties to oil lobbyists and fracking financiers. For that to happen, political leaders need to take action.

Hillary Clinton says that climate change is “an urgent threat and a defining challenge of our time,” and that she is committed to making the United States the “world’s clean energy superpower.”

Clinton can show strong climate leadership by taking a clear stand against the dirty fossil-fuel interests investing in climate destruction.

The language of the Fix Democracy pledge:

"I pledge allegiance to a democracy of, by, and for the people.

If elected, I pledge to fight for a people-powered democracy where every voice is heard by defending the right to vote for all, and supporting common-sense measures like public funding for campaigns and overturning Citizens United to ensure a government by and for the people, not the biggest donors.

And I will prove that I work for the people by refusing money from fossil fuel interests and by championing these solutions for a people powered democracy on the campaign trail."