A Twitter storm is approaching...

This June world leaders are gathering in Brazil for the Rio+20 Earth Summit.  On June 18th, we’re storming the web to demand that they end fossil fuel subsidies now!

Here in NZ, the Twitter storm officially begins at 8pm, Monday June 18th (NZ time), and runs until 7.59pm on June 19th.

Our goal is to deliver tens of thousands of messages to world leaders so they know we demand action—and if we get enough support, we might even hit the Guinness World Record for the “most widespread social network message in 24 hours.”

We recently found out that that tuneful menace, Justin Bieber, just broke the world record with 290,000 tweets. So that raises the bar...

350.org and a host of partner organisations will deliver the results of combined fossil fuel subsidies petition offline - you can sign the petition here. We’ll also be organising this simultaneous online mobilisation to really drive home the point.

To top it off, we’ll be projecting tweets with#endfossilfuelsubsidies in iconic public spaces in the real world, both in Rio and in capital cities around the globe.

Twitter connects world leaders, opinion makers, and regular activists all on one network. If we work together and aim high, we can make sure the right people see and hear this grassroots uprising. We don’t believe the internet will save the world—we believe that people will. Now let’s use this digital bullhorn to make some noise.

 

What can you do?

We encourage individuals and organisations to keep a steady stream of tweets (and reTweets) with the hashtag #endfossilfuelsubsidies flowing over the 24 hour period (see below for some Tweet suggestions).

@350nz will be tweeting our pants (or more aptly our feathers) off on the day, so if you need some inspiration, just check out our Twitter stream here.

We've also created a little bit of information about the New Zealand Government's take on fossil fuel subsidies which can be seen here.


Please keep reading for:

- Sample Tweets

- Subsidies quick facts

 

 Sample Tweets

350NZ will be tweeting our feathers off... so do join us in the conversation and feel free to retweet or use some of our tweet messages specific to NZ's indirect fossil fuel subsidies.

Here are some examples you could use:

  • Join us to #endfossilfuelsubsidies over the next 24-hours. We’re sending the message to #Rio+20 that subsidies have got to go.
  • June 18 weather forecast shows a twitter storm front is movin' in - it'll be raining down #endfossilfuelsubsidies hashtags at Rio+20.
  • Want to stop climate change? Stop funding it. #EndFossilFuelSubsidies
  • World governments spend between $750 billion & $1 trillion on fossil fuel subsidies. Couldn’t we use that $ better? #EndFossilFuelSubsidies
  • Step 1 to solving climate change = STOP subsidizing activities that are causing the problem! #EndFossilFuelSubsidies
  • Eliminating global fossil fuel subsidies could get us halfway to #350ppm & climate safety. #EndFossilFuelSubsidies
  • Taxpayers shouldn’t be in the business of funding fossil fuel corporations. #EndFossilFuelSubsidies
  • Exxon’s federal tax rate in 2010 was 17.2 percent, while the average American’s is 28 percent. #EndFossilFuelSubsidies!
  • Fossil fuels are subsidized six times as much as renewable energy. Let’s turn that around! #EndFossilFuelSubsidies
  • Why do we subsidize things we don’t want, like fossil fuels and climate change? #EndFossilFuelSubsidies
  • Subsidize clean energy and green jobs, not fossil fuels and climate change. #EndFossilFuelSubsidies
  • Fund climate solutions, not fossil fuels and climate change. #EndFossilFuelSubsidies
  • It’s been 20 years since we all agreed to tackle climate change. We can’t wait any longer to actually do it. #EndFossilFuelSubsidies
  • What would you spend $1 trillion on? That’s how much our governments spend on fossil fuel subsidies each yr! #EndFossilFuelSubsidies
  • Join us to #endfossilfuelsubsidies over the next 24-hours & break a world record. We’re sending the message to Rio+20 that subsidies have got to stop.
     

 


Quick facts

  • The world is spending between $750 billion and $1 trillion on fossil fuel subsidies
  • The IEA says that by getting rid of subsidies we can cut emissions in half and we have a better chance at staying below 2 degrees.
  • IEA has the ratio at 6-1 for subsidies for fossil fuels versus renewables. But our estimate for the total spent on dirty subsidies is much larger than IEA’s, meaning that the gap is much wider.

Ending subsidies helps to solve the climate crisis

  • Step 1 to solving the climate crisis is to stop funding the corporations that are causing the problem. The world’s biggest economies should not be in the business of funding polluters who are damaging our communities and destroying our climate.
  • Step 2 is to actually charge polluters for polluting and to use that money to grow our clean energy economy. Even ExxonMobil admits that we need a carbon price.
  • In fact, the IEA estimates that by cutting subsidies for dirty fossil fuels, we can cut our global warming causing emissions in half and go a long way to preventing a 2 degree temperature rise.
  • Climate change has loaded the dice, making extreme weather events more frequent and more dangerous. Giving money to the polluters who are causing the problem makes no sense--for the taxpayer or the climate.
  • The science behind climate change is settled, and human activity is responsible for global warming. Solving the problem requires global cooperation. Let’s come together in Rio to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies.

Leveling the playing field/Tax fairness

  • When all added up, the global community is spending as much as $1 trillion dollars on subsidies. We can do better by investing in renewable energy, education and sustainable development.
  • The G20 pledged in 2009 to roll back these inefficient and wasteful subsidies. Now is the time to make good on their promises.
  • The biggest fossil fuel companies don’t call any nation home. They have interests all over the globe, so global action is required.
  • We subsidize things that we want like education, roads, and clean energy. We shouldn’t subsidize things that we don’t want, like dirty fossil fuels that are destroying the climate.

Fossil fuel companies have enjoyed massive taxpayer support for decades, all while making record profits. That must end now.

  • Oil companies are making more money than anyone. ExxonMobil's effective federal tax rate in 2010 was 17.2 percent, while the average American’s is 28 percent.

Responsibly ending consumption subsidies can and should be done

  • Not all subsidies go to huge multinational fossil fuel corporations. Much of them goes to poor people who need the assistance. We are not calling for this funding to disappear overnight, but to be responsibly phased out over time.
  • The global community will have more resources to aid the poor if we stop giving money to corporations that don’t need it.
  • Climate change will disproportionately affect poor people, and subsidies are fueling our addiction to fossil fuels. They are bad policy and they need to end.

Why Rio?

  • It's been 20 years since nations came together and agreed to tackle climate change. We can't wait any longer for concrete action.
  • If our leaders are serious about preventing runaway climate change, then they can produce a framework in Rio to eliminate wasteful fossil fuel subsidies.

 

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