No Kings in Chicago, and India's Energy Transition

In This Issue

• November Events

  • 11/10: 350 Chicago General Meeting

  • 11/13: 350 Utility Justice Training - How to Combat Utility Misinformation

  • 11/17: 350 Speaker Series - Should, Will, and Can India Pursue a Sustainable Energy Transition?

• Action Center

  • Giving Tuesday!

  • Volunteer with 350 Chicago

  • Online Petition: Climate Safe Pensions

  • Online Petition: Utility Transparency Act

• Climate News

  • EPA Proposes to End Greenhouse Gas Reporting

  • Employees Keeping Funds out of Fossil Fuel companies via 401(k) accounts

• 350 News

  • 350 Chicago and Strong Towns Host Workshop

  • New 350 Speaker Series Videos!

  • 350 Around Chicago in October

• Main Article

  • 350 Chicago and No Kings

Events

350 Chicago General Meeting

• Monday, November 10, 6:30pm - 7:30pm

• via Zoom

Join 350 Chicago for our General Meeting! During the meeting, we will provide campaign updates and discuss the work 350 Chicago is doing in Chicago and Illinois to help preserve a livable planet. We will also provide information about ways to volunteer and get involved with 350 Chicago. Please email [email protected] to attend the General Meeting, we will send you the zoom link.

350 Utility Justice Training: How to Combat Utility Misinformation

• Thursday, November 13, 6:00pm CST (4:00pm PST)

• via Zoom

• REGISTER HERE

Join people across the country who want to learn about the ways for-profit energy utilities use misinformation and false solutions to block clean energy solutions and raise rates on bill payers in our current energy system. We’ll practice going ‘deeper’ in our conversations in order to educate, agitate, and activate!

350 Speaker Series: Should, Will, and Can India Pursue a Sustainable Energy Transition?

• Monday, November 17, 6:00pm CST

• Via Zoom

• REGISTER HERE

India is the world’s most populous nation, the largest democracy, the fastest-growing major economy, and the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases. In this talk, Professor Ranjit Deshmukh will examine India’s critical challenges in meeting its rapidly growing energy demand, ensuring universal energy access, and adapting to climate change, as well as the significant opportunities to address these challenges through the deployment of clean energy technologies.

Action Center

Giving Tuesday!

350 Chicago’s annual Giving Tuesday Fundraising drive will take place on Tuesday, December 2nd, but you can get a head start by donating today! Your gift provides critical support to fight the climate crisis through local climate action.

A gift today helps advance our Fossil Fuel Divestment and Utility Accountability campaigns, our work on clean energy in Illinois, and our efforts to share and support climate solutions across the state. Donate to our Giving Tuesday Campaign to support our work!

Volunteer With 350 Chicago

Want to spend some free time doing some good? 350 Chicago could always use volunteers to help with all aspects of our organization, from fundraising to outreach to education. Learn more about our volunteer opportunities here, or fill out our new volunteer survey to tell us more about yourself so we can find the right fit.

Online Petition: Climate Safe Pensions

Investments in fossil fuels are driving climate change, and they are becoming increasingly risky financial liabilities as well. On behalf of the Climate Safe Pensions Illinois coalition, we are asking Illinois legislators to sign the Fossil Fuel Divestment Act and protect our pensions! Lean more and sign: Climate Safe Pensions Petition!

Online Petition: Utility Transparency Act

Over the years, utilities have made it acceptable to recover some of their costs from ratepayers that we believe should never be passed onto ratepayers, such as their political lobbying efforts. We are asking our legislators to support the Utility Transparency Act and protect Illinois ratepayers. Learn more and sign: Utility Transparency Petition!

Climate News

EPA Proposes to End Greenhouse Gas Reporting

In September, the EPA Proposed to End Greenhouse Gas Reporting entirely, leaving NGOs struggling to fill the information gap. The effect of this will be to intentionally make climate policy more difficult to implement in the future, especially for those communities hit the hardest by climate impacts. Read more here:

• EPA will halt greenhouse gas reporting for big polluters, by Jean Chemnick, E&E News via Politico, 9/12/2025

• The EPA Is Ending Greenhouse Gas Data Collection. Who Will Step Up to Fill the Gap?, by Molly Taft, Wired, 10/1/2025

Employees Keeping Funds out of Fossil Fuel Companies via 401(k) accounts

Many employees are already choosing funds to keep fossil fuel investments out of their personal retirement accounts, resulting millions- perhaps billions- shifted away from fossil fuel investments, and saving employees from exposure to the volatile fossil fuel industry which often under-performs the broader market. These individual actions are very similar to what we are trying to achieve with the Illinois pensions in our Climate Safe Pensions initiative! Read more here:

• Employees are already keeping billions out of fossil fuels via their 401(k)s, by Fossil Free Funds, 9/17/2025

• 75% of 401(k) Participants Want Sustainable Investing, But Most Don’t Know It’s an Option: Morgan Stanley, by ESG News, 7/29/2025

• Another bad year – and decade – for fossil fuel stocks, by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, 1/27/2025

350 News

Ben & Jerry’s Foundation Awards Two-Year Grant to 350 Chicago

We’re pleased to share that the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation has awarded us a two-year unrestricted general operating support grant in the total amount of $60,000.00. They noted that they were “impressed with the proposal and group conversation.” We will be using these funds to support our Illinois Divestment and Utility Accountability campaigns, as well as enable us to work even harder in 2026.

We are incredibly thankful to the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation for their support and believing in our mission to help educate and enable Chicagoans to fight climate change. Thank you also to all our hardworking volunteers who are doing the good work on the ground, which is clearly reflecting well on us as an organization.

350 Chicago and Strong Towns Host Workshop

On October 20th, 350 Chicago partnered with Strong Towns Chicago to present a workshop about contacting your representatives. We discussed when and how to contact your representatives and then practiced techniques for communicating effectively. Feel free to check out the slides!

New 350 Speaker Series Videos!

Three new videos are available on the 350 Chicago YouTube page from our Speaker Series events! If you missed the events in Zoom but were at all curious about the topics discussed feel free to check out the videos below!

350 Around Chicago in October

350 Chicago was at the OAKtoberfest in Glen Ellyn Illinois, where we collected about a hundred signed postcards each for the divestment campaign and for the Utility Transparency campaign! We were also at the Sustainable Action in Fashion event with Chicago Climate Connect, collecting postcards and talking to people about our work in Chicago and Illinois in fighting the climate crisis. Thanks to everyone who came out to see us!

350 Chicago and No Kings

by Joshua Horwitz

On October 18, millions of people around the country came together to peacefully protest the Trump Administrations’ attack on democracy, marking one of the largest single day protests in American History. Chicagoans came out in force, stretching over 2 miles downtown, in addition to sister rallies across the neighborhoods and suburbs. The message was clear: we not going to stand idly by while Donald Trump and his cronies kidnap our neighbors, dismantle our civil institutions, and undermine democracy itself.

“No Kings was an amazing experience. Over 250,000 Chicagoans gathered to protect democracy and everything that democracy makes possible, such as climate action. Without our democracy, solving the climate crisis becomes all that much harder.” - Larry Coble, Executive Director, 350 Chicago

350 Chicago was out on the streets, ‘Adopting a Block’ in collaboration with our partner organizations Third Act Illinois and the Sierra Club. (more pics from our experience HERE). While climate may not have been the focus of the protests, protecting our democracy is absolutely critical for the climate movement. (see 350 Chicago and No Kings: Why Our Planet Needs All of Us to Preserve Democracy)

“The energy during the parade was invigorating. The entire city’s diversity and creativity were on full display. It was a fun, safe, and refreshingly positive environment that made me feel proud to stand up to the injustices in our city and across the country.” - Zack Gilbert, 350 Chicago

At No Kings, the mood was overwhelmingly joyful despite this difficult moment. One of the highlights of the rally was the Flash Mob Dancers who entertained marchers for hours, led by our friends at Third Act and the incredible choreographer Heidi. Marchers loved the energy, and so did Jon Stewart! (Our dancers were featured in The Daily Show episode below at timestamps 7:07 and again at 19:04)

“It gave me a lot of hope, seeing all those people show up. It was a real show of people power, now the question is how can we best channel that people power to help each other.” - Abby Schwartz, 350 Chicago

No Kings, like most peaceful protests, wasn’t about obtaining an immediately tangible policy goal. It was only the beginning of a long struggle. It was a time for everyday Americans fed up with Trump’s dictatorial ambitions to see each other and be in solidarity with each other. It was our way to show the rest of the world that no matter what policy comes out of Washington, we will continue to protect our democracy, our neighbors, and our planet.