Food & Water Action Joins Sunrise Movement to Demand Virginia Legislators Support Green New Deal

Advocates from Sunrise and Food & Water Action pose with Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler.

Richmond, VA - This morning, the Sunrise movement, Food & Water Action, and other environmental advocates packed the halls of the Virginia state capitol and conducted a sit-in in Delegate Eileen Filler-Corn’s office to demand comprehensive climate legislation in the 2020 session. Headlined by Sunrise, the action highlighted the Green New Deal Act (HB77), which addresses the urgency of global warming by jump-starting Virginia’s green economy.  HB77 ends the buildout of fossil fuel infrastructure throughout the state and prioritizes communities most impacted by climate change by fostering a just and equitable clean energy transition. 

Other pieces of the Green New Deal package repeal Virginia’s anti-union ‘right to work’ laws, give communities the power to establish small-scale renewable programs, and form a regenerative food system.  

“In this first week of the 2020 legislative session, climate activists are demanding that elected officials advocate for the goals of Delegate Sam Rasoul’s Green New Deal Act,” says Jolene Mafnas, Virginia organizer for Food & Water Action and a participant in today’s action. “Climate change is the most pressing and existential issue of our time, and we will continue to call for sweeping policy that transitions Virginia to a 100% clean and renewable energy economy by 2036 while providing well-paying jobs and ensuring benefits for Virginia’s most vulnerable communities. A green future is a just future, that’s exactly why we’re fighting to pass the Green New Deal Act.”