Dear John,

As wildfires rage on in the West, storms continue to pummel the Gulf South and a world-wide pandemic surges across the United States with little end in sight, we hope you’ll gain inspiration and hope from frontline communities and their innovative solutions. We’re excited to launch Climate Justice Alliance's Monthly Newsletter with this inaugural edition, where we’ll focus on stories of community, organizing, and transformation that center those making the change that we all need to see. As we continue to take care of our communities and selves, we offer this reflection from YES Magazine: How to Nourish Your Resilience in a Time of Trauma and hope you enjoy this very first edition of Frontline Temp Check!

Congratulations to CJA Steering Committee member, Ironbound Community Corporation in Newark, and the NJ Environmental Justice Alliance for their work on NJ S232 (20R), a groundbreaking piece of legislation which gives the state explicit authority to deny new permits in already overburdened communities and will likely serve as a model for other states. This historic environmental justice bill was signed into law earlier this fall. Read more here! 

UPROSE Defeats Billion Dollar Rezoning Plan

Congratulations to UPROSE who alongside POWWA (Protect Our Working Waterfront Alliance) and allies just defeated big developers in Industry City (Brooklyn, NY) after a long seven-year fight! Their rezoning proposal would have added 1.5 million square feet of luxury and big-box retail, offices, and hotels on Sunset Park's industrial waterfront, which threatened to displace manufacturing and other small businesses as well as the predominantly immigrant and working-class community. Read more about the win here. For a bit more context see Executive Director Elizabeth Yeampierre’s op-ed on the project prior to the victory.

CJA Deeply Dissapointed with Passage of the House Democrats Dirty Energy Bill

Last month, House Democrats passed the Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act. We applaud those who voted no and stood in solidarity with environmental justice communities, rather than pushing a bill deeply tainted by the inclusion of proposals that focus on and investment in nuclear energy, as well as the promotion of risky, unproven carbon removal schemes. You can read our full statement here and check out CJA’s Executive Director on the topic here on twitter.

Missing for over 10 years from the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) equation have been the voices, insights and policy recommendations from those very communities impacted first and worst by these incremental big money initiatives that profess to tackle climate change and equity, while bolstering the corporate business models of the most harmful and profitable polluters on the planet. Read the full press statement here and learn how those on the frontlines of the climate crisis are changing the narrative to ensure the true impact of States’ push for TCI is known and reversed.

This past September, in partnership with our members and allies: Movement Generation, Indigenous Environmental Network, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, El Comite de Unidad Campesina, Grassroots International, Ceres Trust, Chorus Foundation, Surdna Foundation, and The Libra Foundation we hosted a pre-retreat learning institute for the Environmental Grantmakers Association (EGA). Frontline leaders presented on the systemic change models used by their communities, such as Buen Vivir and the Indigenous Principles of Just Transition.

The EGA space is meant to cultivate effective environmental philanthropy; our involvement helped to continue the critical work of educating funders on the connection and consequence of social inequity, racial injustice, and ecological disruption. It’s important to learn more about grassroots systemic change frameworks as these are the climate solutions and policies that can move us toward local, living and regenerative economies. You can watch the video presentation here.