Message from the Chair
Happy holidays from the ECCC! While 2023 marked the hottest in 125,000 years, the race is on both globally and domestically to combat climate change…later is too late! All hands-on-deck for the 2024 election cycle, which could determine the future for people and planet.
The U.N.’s COP28 in Dubai began with commitments in finance for the operationalization of the loss and damage fund, putting in place a mechanism to distribute money to frontline and vulnerable communities most direly impacted by climate change. John Kerry and the U.S. spear-headed a Global Methane Pledge to cut methane emissions by 30% from 2020 levels by 2030. There was also a pledge by 118 countries to ramp up renewables three-fold and double energy efficiency by 2030, and $2.5 billion was set aside to protect and restore the natural world; forests, oceans, mangroves. Health and agricultural food systems were also underscored for the first time at COP, highlighting the inextricable link between solving climate and protecting people’s health on this ailing planet.
COP28 also became the first in nearly 30 years to adapt language acknowledging the need to transition away from fossil fuels, in accordance with science. Though most entities were vying for a ‘phasing out’, this deal was a compromise hard fought against OPEC and fossil fuel lobbyists, nonetheless. We could not have moved that needle without civil society groups pushing in the negotiating rooms and holding leaders to account. Naming the problem is the first step, but keeping all parties accountable for taking pledged action will require sustained effort.
Domestically, the Biden-Harris Administration last week announced $174 million in awards funded by the IRA through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to support energy efficiency, electrification, clean energy, low-embodied carbon materials, and climate resilience improvements in 30 HUD-assisted multifamily properties. Vice President Harris also announced $600 million for 11 selected Grantmakers under the EPA’s Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking program. As we establish the first cohort of the American Climate Corps in summer 2024, seven federal agencies are formally entering into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) as a blueprint for the multiagency program. Virtual listening sessions are open to hear directly from American Climate Corps applicants and implementing partners, which include special guests Senator Ed Markey, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, AmeriCorps CEO Michael Smith, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, and more.
As 2023 draws to a close, we both acknowledge the enormous strides the administration has made both to mitigate climate change and help the country and vulnerable communities adapt. Nonetheless, we have yet to reach agreed goals in scope and scale. Far more must be done by our President in clamping down on fossil fuel subsidies, ending our reliance on fossil fuels, and halting expansion of its infrastructure.
I am grateful to all of you for your climate activism in 2023; for those who speak out, volunteer, live a greener life, and support us financially. Thank you for staying engaged, electing Democrats, and pressing our representatives to take decisive action on behalf of the environment and climate. Your voice matters. Your vote matters.
Dana Freling
Chair, DA Environment & Climate Crisis Council
Welcome to the ECCC’s January Climate Café, Jan. 17, 2024 at 4:00 pm CET10:00am ET, where special guest, Naomi Zurcher, will discuss urban forestry and the fight for a clean and healthy environment in U.S. cities.
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RSVP Here |
Media articles:
🗾 Chart: The US hits new highs for oil and gas production
💪 In 2023, organized labor became core to the climate movement
💰 Countries go ahead with carbon deals despite Cop28 standoff
👫 Climate change is driving a global youth revolution
♻️ ‘The future is renewable’: How a huge gamble sealed Cop28 deal
🌲 Biden moves to ban most old-growth logging in national forests
📿 Training a new generation of ‘climate doctors’
💧 Biden admin’s long-awaited hydrogen rules are here — and on the right track
🌍 COP28 Is Over. But Climate Pledges Are Still Emerging in the Final Days of 2023
Video clips:
🆘 Al Gore on what the world needs to do to stop climate change
🔔 Vice President Harris Delivers the U.S. Statement at COP28
📣 COP28 | Presidency Formal Plenary - 13 December 2023
Volunteer with the ECCC – Contact us at eccc@democratsabroad if you’d like to get more involved. Join our working group, the Watchdogs Research Task Force or to help out with a variety of tasks including social media and communications.
Please add a 2024 Ballot Request Reminder to your calendar. Request it early and vote out Republicans in November 2024. It can be found at the bottom of this email
Tune in: The Biden-Harris Administration is asking for public input on the new training program for good, green jobs: the American Climate Corps! These virtual listening sessions will feature climate champions Senator Ed Markey, Secretary Deb Haaland, and more:
- Jan 11, 10am ET / 7am PT
- Jan 16, 6pm ET / 3pm PT
- Jan 25, 6pm ET / 3pm PT
- Feb 1, 10am ET / 7am PT
- Can’t make it? Email written suggestions to [email protected] by Jan 31, 2024.
Write your representative-
Guide to the IRA – This Guide Can Help You Save Money and Fight Climate Change
Guide to the IRA’s Investments in Indian Country; tax incentives and funding programs: Inflation Reduction Act Tribal Guidebook
Guide to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law - Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Guidebook
Energy Cost Resources to lower your energy costs, make your home safer and more comfortable, and help the planet: Energy Savings Hub | Department of Energy
Biden-Harris Vision for a Climate Resilient Nation -guide for climate resilience investments and activities by the federal government and its partners: National Climate Resilience Framework
Sign the Petition to Declare a Climate Emergency!
🌎 Watch our December Climate Café – COP28 Roundup with Democrats Abroad
🌎 Watch our November webinar, The Road to COP28: Why Electing Democrats in 2024 is Key to the Global Climate Agenda with Senator Ed Markey and Michelle Deatrick, the Chair of the DNC's Climate Crisis Council
🌎 Watch our September Climate Café – Can the Private Sector Help Biodiversity Conservation
🌎 Watch our July Climate Café – The Rise of Cell-cultured Meat
🌎 Watch our May Climate Café – The U.S. and China and the Race to NET ZERO
🌍 Watch our ECCC Earth Day Video 2023
🌎 Watch our April Climate Café – The U.S. and E.U.: Race to Electric Vehicles
🌎 Watch our March Climate Café – African Women Entrepreneurs: Green Energy Innovators
🌍 Watch our February Climate Café - Preserving the Lungs of the Planet: Brazil's 2nd chance!
🌍 Watch our December Climate Café – Arts and Climate Activism, with special guest Michelle Deatrick
🌍 Watch our November Climate Café - COP27 Round up: Live from Sharm El Sheik with Sam Goodman
🌍 Watch our YOUTH v GOV Voices Webinar
🌍 Did you miss our Co₂nsequences: Global Climate Rally in April? You can watch it here. We had a lot of great speakers and performers.
🌍 Want to make your lifestyle greener? Boost your knowledge. Check out our Earth Care Toolkit.