Dear John,

After a year of intense and thoughtful examinations of our state’s long-term climate goals, we have some exciting news to share with all of you.

This afternoon, the Maine Climate Council and Governor Janet Mills officially finalized a bold, new Climate Action Plan to combat climate change and build more resilient communities in Maine. You can watch the virtual rollout event here. The final plan is available for you to read here. 

While there is plenty of work ahead to implement the ambitious goals in the plan, we want to soak in this moment, celebrate, and thank you for all of your extraordinary support of our work to help shape this exciting new plan for our state. 

During the rollout event today, Governor Mills said:

“Climate change will have profound implications for our state, our economy, and our people – both present and future. This is why Maine won’t wait, and can’t wait, to take action to ensure the resiliency of our communities, to create clean energy jobs and build a clean energy economy, and to support Maine families’ transition away from expensive, harmful fossil fuels to homegrown, renewable energy.” 

We could not agree more.

So, what’s next for us at MCV? The climate crisis is not slowing down and neither are our efforts to combat it. We will support Governor Mills and her team as they begin the hard work of implementing the plan, including through legislation described today. We will continue strengthening our relationships with the elected officials who will be integral in each stage of the process, and keep you, our members, informed with opportunities to get involved.  

This plan was designed with the contributions of thousands of Mainers -- including many of you -- and we will work tirelessly to ensure that your voices are heard in the plan’s implementation. Thank you for being as invested as we are in tackling the climate crisis head-on.

The next several years will be fundamental to building a just and resilient future for all Mainers and we cannot do this work without you. 

If you are able, we ask for your support on this Giving Tuesday. You will help us continue working with elected officials at all levels of government to pass forward-thinking legislation that cuts carbon pollution, transitions our state to clean energy, builds a green economy, and protects our land, water, health, and democracy.

Onward,
Kathleen