Posted by Dana Freling
March 09, 2025

Chair - Global Environment and Climate Crisis; Vice Chair - DA Finland; Steering Committee - Global Womens Caucus; Member-Reproductive Justice Task Force

Message From the Chair

The new Administration may be mounting an assault on democracy, but we have tools to resist - and we invite you to join us in using them!

As Ezra Klein astutely pronounced, ‘don’t believe him’. We cannot become overwhelmed nor normalize these strikes on our democracy. The President’s blitzkrieg is slamming government institutions, including those overseeing climate and health protections globally. As expected, The tragic, climate fueled LA fires are now under control, but Project 2025 is being rolled out in full velocity. Newly elected DNC leadership stepped up last week and is honing strategies, along with our elected representatives, to preserve our republic. Not only is the world’s economy and health at risk, so too are our planetary boundaries.

Attacks on hard fought energy policy have been swift and savage. They exited the Paris climate accords (signed by ~200 countries), withdrew funding commitments for global climate support, paused IRA spending, canceled the Climate Corps, just as it was getting off the ground, are shuttering wind and solar projects, blocking efforts to transition to electric vehicles, have lifted Biden’s pause on new LNG export projects, and scrapped the various government agencies dedicated to environmental justice. They have frozen EPA spending and say they will fire broad swaths of EPA and National Science Foundation personnel and experts! Oh, and they declared an “energy emergency”, making it easier to do all of the above. That farcical executive order prioritizes fossil fuel production when the nation has record levels of oil and gas. Big Oil spent $445 million in the last election cycle, securing a firm grip on the reigns of power.

The President also withdrew from the World Health Organization, just when climate change is exacerbating risks to global health. Shock waves around the world as he paused aid spending, raided USAID offices, and recalled over 10,000 aid workers worldwide, endangering millions of at risk people globally and our own national security interests. Musk and his rats sieged the federal treasury payment system, and together they are skirting the laws set by the U.S. Congress.

We must also see and build on the cracks of light. Fortunately, Michael Bloomberg has generously offered to fund the U.S. gap for the UNFCCC (the UN Climate Body). Europe, China and Brazil are expected to fill the void Trump has created in international climate diplomacy. Biden did succeed in securing a lot of IRA money in the final weeks, hard for Trump to claw back. And the tools removed from government websites to identify vulnerable groups have been rescued and resurrected by the Public Environmental Data Project on an independent domain. Democratic senators are refusing to sit for confirmation votes this week until foreign aid is restored, an issue for which the public is fighting fiercely. But if that process should all falter, the global energy transition isn’t reliant solely on what governments do. Another hope for climate action is in economic forces. In 2016, global investments in the energy transition were $426 billion, with most going to government-subsidized solar and wind power. By 2024, clean energy investments grew X5 greater, (double that of fossils) at $2 trillion.

We must now augment our resistance advocacy and that starts with educating ourselves. Please join the ECCC for our February Climate Café (2.26), New Climate Reality 2025, for a frank discussion. The struggle for climate action CANNOT pause; the alternative is just too grim. Our resistance must grow and shift to building and reinforcing the alliances vital at the state and municipal levels. Your voice and your actions are more critical than ever.

Thank you for speaking out and showing up, for volunteering, and living a greener life at this critical time!

Dana Freling

Chair, DA Environment & Climate Crisis Council

The siege on the federal government across the board has reached gut wrenching proportions. Likely you are following and wondering how you and other Democrats can resist. Please join the ECCC Climate Café in examining how the rollout of Project 2025 is impacting our climate agenda, as it tries to erase, as well, the identification of all vulnerable groups. This will be an ‘in-house’ event, where we invite all of you for a frank discussion on what’s happening and what to do! So please join us and bring your friends on February 26^th at 11:00 am ET/5:00 pm CET.

RSVP HERE

Now is a critical time to step up for climate action and our democracy. Fighting climate change is also fighting poverty and equalities of all kind. We start by educating ourselves on what is happening and understanding the role of government and enterprise in effecting change. We can help guide each other, joining activist groups both within Democrats Abroad and adjacent. We can write our representatives, local, state, and federal and both Republican and Democratic. Don’t get overwhelmed… breathe! Take actions, however small, when you can…together we can make a difference.

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:

National fellowship with Protecting America

· Summary: Protecting America is a leadership accelerator providing aspiring political leaders and climate activists an opportunity to gain real-world experience as a coordinator of regional, state, national, or international policy, campaigns, and/or media initiatives. Fellows are mentored by current and former elected officials and work directly organizing inspirational climate champion lawmakers across the country and beyond.

· Link: https://protectingamerica.net/jobs/national-fellowship/

· Deadline: Rolling

Write your representative

· Contact U.S. Senators

· Contact U.S. Representatives

· Contact State Representatives