GLASGOW, Scotland— Grassroots leaders from the U.S. Gulf Coast will gather for a photo and speaking opportunity ahead of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland’s remarks at the U.N. climate summit today. Just three days after the end of COP26, the Biden administration is slated to hold a major offshore oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico. The representatives of impacted communities and other climate justice groups in the Build Back Fossil Free campaign will demand President Biden keep his promise to end new federal fossil fuel leasing and permitting on public lands and waters.

What: Photo and speaking opportunity with grassroots leaders, including impacted community members from the U.S. Gulf coast, and banner art demanding President Biden keep his promise to end new federal fossil fuel drilling.

When: 11:00-11:45am Glasgow time, Thursday Nov. 4

Where: Outside the entrance to the Scottish Event Campus at the corner of Finnieston and Lancefield Quay, toward the bridge from the main COP26 Blue Zone checkpoint.

Who: Representatives of grassroots U.S. groups affiliated with the Build Back Fossil Free campaign, including impacted frontline community leaders.

Background

Despite lawsuits, calls by millions of Americans to halt federal fossil fuel expansion, and the president’s own promise to tackle the climate crisis with the urgency it requires, the Biden administration is planning oil and gas lease sales across 80 million acres of the Gulf of Mexico and hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands. The Gulf sale is scheduled for Nov. 17, just days after the Glasgow climate talks.