Dear John,

Lots has happened since we communicated with you last! Over the summer, CJA officially welcomed three experienced, dedicated and undeniably powerful women of color as CJA’s Co-Executive Directors: Ozawa Bineshi Albert, Monica Atkins and Marion Gee!  All three have strong ties to CJA membership, and base-building and community centered organizations working for a Just Transition throughout Turtle Island (North America). To learn more about them and the rest of our team visit our staff bios page here.       

In other news, we're on the lookout for a Director of Policy and Advocacy. If you know someone who loves EJ/frontline communities, has a demonstrated ability to follow and uplift grassroots, frontline leadership, and is a skilled policy mover and shaker (with state and/or federal experience) we want to know them! Please share the full job description with your networks. 

Finally, as storms and wildfires continue to accelerate, we ask that you share and lift up the asks of frontline communities such as Gulf Coast Center for Law and Policy and Another Gulf is Possible Collaborative.

Join the "What is Happening in Congress Right Now?" Webinar with Indigenous Environmental Network 

Congress promised our communities they would fight to end the climate crisis once we elected them into office, but instead we see them fighting for a Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and Reconciliation package that has been drastically watered down and will collectively pour billions of dollars into fossil fuels and false solutions responsible for exacerbating the climate crisis. What did we win? What did we lose?

Join CJA member, Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) TODAY, Thursday, September 30th, at 6 pm ET | 5 pm CST | 4 pm MST | 3 pm PT to hear the current state of play, their position, the bigger picture, and what you need to know about this important political moment. Register at : https://bit.ly/2XXmuct

Oregon Communities' Year Long Listening Tour Culminates in Strongest State Clean Energy Standard to Date

Over the summer the Oregon Just Transition Alliance (OJTA) was successful in passing Oregon’s clean energy bill, which sets the strongest clean energy standard in the US: 100% clean renewable energy by 2040. The new law requires Portland General Electric and Pacific Power, the state’s two major power companies, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% from a baseline amount by 2030, 90% by 2035 and 100% by 2040. The law also includes a ban on the expansion or new construction of power plants that burn fossil fuels in addition to an allocation of $50 million in grants for community-based energy projects.

The bill is the culmination of a year long listening tour OJTA embarked on where organizers traveled around the state to really find out from frontline communities who have most been impacted by the pandemic, increasing wildfires, and an economic recession what their policy priorities were. What came out of this engagement with community members was the policy concept to create living wage jobs, invest in community-based renewable energy projects, and to help build more disaster resilience as part of the transition to 100% clean energy by 2040.

Check out our final Story Snapshot featuring CJA member, Soil Generation! Join us for a meditative glimpse into the natural rhythms of farming the land, harvesting, and eating together -- and how this way of being in itself is social movement.

This story snapshot is a sensory-rich short film that invites viewers to show up with SG and feel what it’s like to work alongside the community on the ground. Learn first-hand how important growing food is to people in Philadelphia! AND review Soil Generation’s just released Agroecology from the People Manual in celebration of the upcoming autumn equinox.

On September 8th, the Bezos Earth Fund announced its second round of funding of more than $200 million to a few environmental justice (EJ), academic, corporate controlled, and big green- and Hollywood-informed entities. Of the nearly $1 billion given out by the Earth Fund thus far, ~20% has been transferred to environmental/climate justice organizations, and much of that via funder intermediaries. Ironically, this is substantially less than what is called for in the Justice40 initiative they are supporting, which urges the federal government to ensure 40% of “overall benefits” are directed to “disadvantaged communities”.

Now is the time for undeniably powerful grassroots leadership. This is even truer now than when the Earth Fund announced its initial grantees last year. We call upon the Bezos Earth Fund to make clear their commitment to frontline communities by mirroring Justice40’s 40% investment (which is a floor, not a ceiling) and committing at least 40% of remaining funds directly to grassroots-led climate solutions. There are four pathways ready to absorb these funds: frontline organizations directly; via grassroots alliances and networks; via community-controlled capital mechanisms; and via grassroots-centric funder intermediaries. 

Continue reading our full statement here.