Message from the Chair
News peppering the press continues to be terrifying, from the Atlantic Ocean's circulation nearing a tipping point, with potentially devastating consequences, to the impacts of global human conflicts. Showing up at the voting booth, educating ourselves and others, and writing our elected leaders is still a powerful way to shape our world.
President Biden has tapped John Podesta, who currently oversees the practical implementation of the IRA, to replace key climate envoy, John Kerry. The Biden administration launched several important initiatives this month, including Biden’s Buy Clean Initiative, which leverages the government’s power as the largest purchaser globally to advance low embodied construction materials in procurement and infrastructure projects. In tandem, the EPA announced a draft approach to implementing $100 million in a Label Program for Low Embodied Carbon Construction Materials. The administration also strengthened national air quality standards, controlling soot pollution for low-income communities.
There is critical state specific legislation now under consideration this year in the U.S., as well as vital court decisions. In Colorado, Democrats are pushing for a ban on new gas and oil drilling!! New York could also re-write its relationship with fossil fuels with a recent bill. In the Florida Everglades, a tribal conservation plan will permanently end drilling in Big Cypress, and a key climate law enshrining cap and trade is also under attack in Washington state. On the legal front, we celebrate a bold victory against misinformation, as climate scientist, Michael Mann, wins a court battle against bloggers.
Election 2024 will have a decisive impact on climate mitigation in the U.S. and worldwide and our efforts to help vulnerable communities adapt. This must be the year we push for eradicating fossil fuel subsidies, ending fossil fuel reliance, and halting expansion of its infrastructure. We will achieve none of this with a Republican administration in office and without pushing our Democratic representatives up and down the ballot to put climate above the interests of fossil fuel lobbyists.
Thank you for reaffirming your commitment to democracy and to climate activism in this pivotal election cycle; voting, speaking outing, volunteering, living a greener life, and supporting us financially. Now is the time to elect Democrats and press 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
The most consequential election cycle of our lifetimes is upon on, and we need your help, not only to continue addressing the climate crisis, but to help preserve democracy itself. Please register now (and tell your friends!) at VoteFromAbroad.
From March 5-12, Americans around the world can also vote either in person at a Country Committee voting center or online in the Democrats Abroad Global Presidential Primary. Take a stand for democracy and make sure Americans abroad issues are on the map this year.
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Go to VFA orRequest Ballot here |
If you would like to help get out the vote this year, please get certified through our voter assistance training. If you have questions about your specific state elections or would like to join more localized efforts, check out our state teams.
Welcome to the ECCC’s January Climate Café, Feb. 28, 2024, at 10:00 am ET/4:00 pm CET, where special guest Naomi Zurcher will discuss urban forestry and the fight for a clean and healthy environment in U.S. cities. She will discuss how the disenfranchised community issue and how social injustice and environmental injustice are inseparable.
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RSVP HERE |
Media articles:
⚖️ We Don’t Have Time for Climate Misinformation
💰 ‘Under the radar’: Biden is pushing 2 big climate rules as first term ends
💦 Farmers, tribes reach ‘historic’ Klamath River deal
🌋 Biden puts $60M into three geothermal energy projects
🌽 Move to sustainable food systems could bring $10tn benefits a year, study finds
🌾 A ‘Revolutionary’ Way to Feed the World That’s Very Old
🗾 How Racism Flooded Alabama’s Historically Black Shiloh Community
💪 The unlikely coalition behind Biden’s liquefied natural gas pivot
🌎 US and global climate policy: Can Podesta do both?
Video clips:
📣 California Senate candidates explain their position on climate change
🔔 Al Gore on what the world needs to do to stop climate change
🌊 Is Climate Change Slowing Down the Ocean?
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Getting Hotter AND Colder: Explaining the Polar Vortex by Elizabeth Clarey |
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Disrupting the Planetary Water Cycle by Gabrielle Leyden |
Volunteer with the ECCC – Contact us at eccc@democratsabroad if you’d like to get more involved. Join our working groups, the Watchdogs Research Group, the Legislative Tracking Group, or to help out with a variety of tasks, including social media and communications.
Tune in:
February 27, 2024 at 3:00 ET. White House Council on Environmental Quality Black History Month Webinar
- Summary: In honor of Black History Month, join the Council on Environmental Quality for a virtual roundtable with Black conservation and climate leaders working to advance access to nature, climate justice, and the preservation of Black history.
- Register here: https://pitc.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_TQrxuAMlTbi0BBAccw2y7g#/registration
Feb. 27-29, 2024 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) webinars on its final rule to reduce methane from oil and natural gas operations
- Summary: EPA will hold several public webinars in February and March on the agency’s final rule that will sharply reduce methane and other harmful air pollutants from the oil and natural gas industry, including from hundreds of thousands of existing sources nationwide, promote the use of cutting-edge methane detection technologies, and deliver significant economic and public health benefits.
- Register and learn more here: https://www.epa.gov/controlling-air-pollution-oil-and-natural-gas-operations/epas-final-rule-oil-and-natural-gas-0
Engage in Kitchen Table Talks to inform the Democrats Abroad 2024 Platform Climate and Environment Kitchen Table Talks guide.
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.