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Dear John |
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As 2024 is coming to a close we want to thank YOU for continuing to engage in the Environmental Justice movement. We value your commitment to the work. We succeed when we all work together, building strong relationships and creating a powerful a movement with the gifts and talents of all its members shared. You are at the heart of this movement and we are grateful for all you do!
A snapshot of a recap of our year:
Looking ahead to 2025:
Reliance on fossil fuels has brought our planet to the cusp of climate instability and global warming levels that threaten all life on this planet. For decades, scientists have affirmed that our atmospheric CO2 levels must be below 350 ppm for a stable climate. 350 Eastside will continue working locally and regionally to reduce fossil fuel extraction and consumption to keep our climate stable and safe for all.
End of the year updates 350.org - Thanks to your dedication and the dedication of climate activists around the globe, we were able to kick off bold climate campaigns and inclusive solutions to the climate crisis this past year. Here’s a quick look at just a few of the powerful milestones we’ve achieved together this year: We launched a multi-language toolkit and global network to support communities setting up their own renewable energy projects: We kicked off the year by launching the “Our Own Power Toolkit" — a multi-language, unique, and free resource that helps guide communities through 5 phases of renewable energy campaigns. We followed up with “Our Own Power Network” (OOP) in October, a global network of activists working together to build locally sourced, affordable, 100% renewable energy systems. Together, this network is growing every day and shaping the future of energy across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. We helped bring solar energy to areas in Uganda and Tanzania: A few months later, we launched our “REPower Afrika Campaign” in July 2024 with the goal of driving Africa’s shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Our activists organized rallies, installed renewable energy systems, and protested fossil fuel projects across seven countries. This year, we’re on our way to bringing solar light to 80 public infrastructures, from health centers to schools, but we won’t stop until at least 80% of Africa is powered by renewable energy. We demanded world leaders tax the wealth of the ultra rich: We launched the “Tax Their Billions Campaign” in Europe to make the super rich pay to fix the climate crisis. Together, we’re calling on governments to tax those most responsible for & least impacted by the climate crisis — billionaires and fossil fuel giants. During COP29 in November, we released an eye opening dossier in 4 languages exposing the dirty secrets of eight billionaires. Activists also took to the streets in cities across Europe to urge governments to make these billionaires pay their fair share in taxes. We successfully made the case for heat pumps in Canada: With Canada battling extreme heat this summer, our team called for a public heat pump program to save lives, cut bills, and protect the planet through our “Heat Pumps for All Campaign”. Together, we recruited volunteers across the country and hired organizing fellows in strategically important communities. We released two mini documentaries on why heat pumps help tackle both the climate crisis and the affordability crisis. And thanks to grassroots organizing, we now have the support of 21 Members of Parliament across three political parties—and we’re continuing to build momentum! Our campaign led to the early release of climate activist, Hong: As Vietnam joined the $15.5 billion Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) — a deal to secure money for shifting to cleaner energy, its government started targeting climate advocates instead of involving them. Our ally and activist Hoàng Thi Minh Hồng was then unjustly imprisoned, so we rallied together to demand her release. Our “Free Hong Campaign” garnered over 9,000 signatures and united people from over 55 countries. Victory came on September 21 when Hong was finally released - 20 months early! Our support for environmental defenders’ rights and inclusion continues – we stand strong and in solidarity for all those fighting alongside us for a better future! Our global climate movement is only possible because of tens of thousands of people like you standing up all over the world demanding a brighter future for us all. Together we’re powering the work to protect our climate for generations to come. With gratitude and hope, Team 350
350 Allies for the Earth - 2025 will be a decisive year for the fight to protect our planet First of all, we both know that Donald Trump and his billionaire friends are prepared to do everything in their power over the next four years to roll back climate regulations and embolden the fossil fuel industry. Here at 350, we aren't going to let that happen — around the world, our activists and campaigners are working with local communities to install solar panels and bring safe, renewable energy to families. In 2025, we are taking our climate fight to the next level by launching the 350 Solidarity Fund — a fund that is all about training, supporting, and organizing side-by-side with climate activists around the globe. The fight for our planet is bigger than any one politician or country. That is exactly why here at 350, we are working with local communities across Africa, the Pacific Islands, the Brazilian Amazon, and all over the world, to take the power out of the hands of the fossil fuel companies and bring it into the hands of frontline communities. Next year, we are gearing up for the first-ever "Renew Our Power" gathering to train climate activists on how to install solar in their communities and organize against the fossil fuel industry.
When I look around the world at what 350 and the climate movement is accomplishing, I feel hope and resolve that the fight for our planet is only just getting started. In solidarity, Carly Brownell
A letter to Biden, shut down DAPL - As legal battles over DAPL intensify, the pressure on President Biden to shut down DAPL is mounting. This is our last chance to push the Biden administration to permanently shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline. We’re running out of time for President Biden to shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) before Trump takes office. If he doesn’t act now, we won’t get another chance for four more years — that’s four more years of DAPL operating illegally, endangering our climate, and violating the rights of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. DAPL is an affront to frontline Indigenous communities and our climate. President Biden must shut it down before leaving office in January. In October, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the unlawful operation of the pipeline, citing the lack of environmental review or an emergency spill response plan.1 Despite this, the pipeline continues to threaten the health and safety of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and our climate. Recent legal developments make this moment even more urgent, Phil. A North Dakota judge has just approved the state’s request to intervene in the ongoing lawsuit over the pipeline.2 This means DAPL can continue to operate illegally while the legal battle unfolds. Shutting down the pipeline is not just about preventing environmental destruction; it’s about standing in solidarity with Indigenous communities who have been fighting for years to protect their land. This recent ruling and the legal loopholes being used only heighten the need for immediate action to protect our climate and at-risk communities. In 2020, President Biden showed strong leadership by canceling the Keystone XL (KXL) pipeline. Now, we’re urging him to finally follow through on his campaign promise and shut down DAPL for good before he leaves office. Together we’re powering the work to protect our climate for generations to come. With gratitude and hope, Team 350 JL Andrepont
Climate Disobedience Center - We’ve had a month to process the election results and prepare for the months and years ahead. For some folks, this time may have given you some space to breathe and build your resolve to act. For others, the anxiety is just growing. Many of us are experiencing both. You will hear from us more in the coming weeks with next steps, but for now we are reaching out with love. We appreciate each of you so much, and are so grateful to be in community and resistance with you. We wanted to share this article that was written by Daniel Hunter in Waging Nonviolence. Many of you may have seen it already. It captures a lot of our thoughts and perspective on this moment, and has some fantastic insight into what comes next. We especially appreciated its advice to build trust, process our emotions, and recommit to strategic disobedience as the next step. Hunter writes “These are folks surviving and protecting our own — especially those of us directly targeted, such as trans people, folks choosing abortions and immigrants… In effective ‘Disrupt and Disobey’ type actions the ultimate goal is paving a path for mass noncooperation: tax resistance, national strikes, work shut-downs and other nonviolent mass disobedience tactics — the most effective strategies to displace authoritarians…..We can’t just be stuck reacting and stopping the bad. We have to have a vision. This is the slow growth work of building alternative ways that are more democratic. It includes grounding and healing work, rich cultural work.” To move forward in this work of protection, disruption, and future building, we must refuse to surrender in advance. In “On Tyranny,” author Timothy Snyder writes, “Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.” We have absolutely no intention to surrender, and neither should you. The only thing we can rely on in the continued fight against fascism is each other. Luckily that is the most powerful thing. -With love, Leif, Marla, Nastasia, and Tim
P.S. If you are looking for resources at the moment to skill up for what’s coming, here are some recommendations: Get in touch with us: We are here to help you work through next steps. You can also check out our updated website. CDC flyer on de-escalation basics. Climate Defense Project’s Security Culture Zine. Our Emotional Self-Regulation Tools Handout. CDC Toolkit on confronting transphobia and TERF-ism. (We’ve been excited to learn that some of you are already using this toolkit with others in your communities!) National Lawyers Guild Know Your Rights resources.
STOP THE MONEY PIPELINE - On February 10th, our friends at the Sierra Club and Stand.earth are releasing their updated annual report: The Hidden Risk in State Pensions: analyzing state pensions responses to the climate crisis in proxy voting. Join us for a very special pre-launch report briefing: The Hidden Risk in State Pensions: Report & Campaign Briefing on Thursday, February 6th, 9am PST / 10am MST/ 12pm EST. Save the date and RSVP for the Report and Campaign Briefing here on February 6th! On the call, our friends will preview the newest findings of the annual report, as well as provide you with the tools and support you need to push your state pension to take the climate crisis and climate risk seriously. RSVP here to join us for The Hidden Risk in State Pensions Report and Campaign Briefing. Public pensions control about $4 trillion in assets and are the longest-term investors in the world. Each year at companies' annual shareholder meetings, pensions use that money to cast votes on climate and fossil fuel-related shareholder resolutions and corporate director elections. Unfortunately, far too many public pensions, even in progressive cities and states, are regularly voting against climate action. This includes opposing climate action at many banks, insurance companies, and asset managers. The Hidden Risk analyzes the voting records and voting guidelines of major state pensions. Their analysis finds that no public pension in the country is doing enough to tackle the climate crisis and reduce the climate risk in its portfolio. And many states, including Colorado, Washington, Maine, Minnesota, and more, are doing nowhere near enough. In solidarity,
Please check out these other organizations doing great work on the Eastside -
Let’s stay engaged to protect this beautiful planet and all who inhabit her, Emily, Lin, Lynn, Marilyn, and Phil |
