The question we face is simple: will America quickly mobilize against climate chaos on a massive scale, or will we remain stuck in denial and passivity until it is too late to avert impacts that will devastate civilization and our living systems? Unfortunately, few people understand that we are in a planetary emergency, demanding urgent response. Decades of rising emissions, while scientists clearly explained the crisis, have closed the window of non-disruptive, gradual reductions. While an incremental, decades-long emissions reduction scenario (which the world agreed to in Paris) may seem “politically realistic,” it is not “scientifically realistic.” 

The US now needs an all-out emergency climate mobilization at wartime speed. The goal must be Net Zero US Emissions within a decade; Net Zero Globally within fifteen years. 

 Yet in the face of endemic denial and passivity, how do we catalyze an Emergency Climate Mobilization quickly enough to protect a livable Earth? It will be impossible to achieve without public support and pressure. Importantly, it only takes 3-4% of engaged, impassioned citizens—those most concerned—to transform the situation. 

We must move quickly to tell the truth and drive a cultural conversation, to achieve a US consensus on an Emergency Climate Mobilization within two years. A broad-based people’s campaign is needed to catalyze the mobilization. To ignite public pressure and build the “Emergency Climate Movement,” the Climate Emergency Coalition warns and motivates groups and citizens.