Dear John,

Here we are once again, shaking off the icky feeling from settler-colonialism's favorite holiday followed by consumerist mayhem and looking forward to the solstice, the start of a new year. It's a good time for reflection. Like thinking back thirty years to the 1991 National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit, an event that shaped the course of the environmental justice movement in many ways, including offering us the Principles of Environmental Justice and Principles of Working Together. 

It's also the time of year when many organizations do the majority of fundraising. For CJA members, especially the frontline, grassroots groups, it can be tough. It takes a lot of work to do the work in the first place, not to mention trying to be heard among the calls for generosity when it feels like newsfeeds and inboxes are overflowing with solicitations. Today you can make things easier on them by giving directly to CJA members before they even have to ask. Some of them have staff and leadership who were at the '91 summit, others formed in its wake, while all of them work to continue building a thriving movement for environmental justice today. 

We hope that reading about and watching some of their stories of success and struggle that we've compiled here will inspire you to give to their important work today.

The United Nations annual climate change conference (COP26) recently concluded in Glasgow, Scotland and CJA members were on the ground to raise the perspectives and solutions of those most impacted by the climate crisis. In particular, they pushed back against net-zero, and other false solutions that do not actually reduce emissions at the source and will continue to accelerate climate change through continued greenhouse gas emissions and pollution. They also offered examples of just solutions that can be implemented now through local, community controlled renewable energy models that discontinue the harmful practice of polluting in low-income frontline communities while ensuring clean, place-based solutions that provide healthy futures and sustainable jobs.

“Once again the UNFCCC has demonstrated that their interests lie heavily with economic bottom lines rather than in a true commitment to tackling the climate crisis. The It Takes Roots delegation–comprised of U.S.-based Climate Justice Alliance, Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, Indigenous Environmental Network, Just Transition Alliance, and Central Florida Jobs with Justice, representing frontline communities directly impacted by fossil fuel extraction and production–has witnessed the COP26 negotiations move at an incremental pace, while upholding investments in carbon trading and market-based schemes that ensure continued fossil fuel extraction and production far into the future.” To continue reading our full press statement click here or watch highlights from COP to learn more about why we must continue to support frontline leadership and wisdom if we want to safeguard Mother Earth for future generations.

Recently, the fossil fuel resistance flooded DC to demand action from President Biden. The People vs Fossil Fuels Week of Actions kicked off on Indigenous Peoples Day and  brought Indigenous groups, climate and racial justice groups, and youth-led groups together with a simple demand: end fossil fuel projects, declare a national climate emergency, and transition to 100% clean, renewable energy. 

The week was filled with actions centering the voices of the frontlines, Indigenous leaders occupying the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and concluding with a march to the US Capitol. To learn more about how Biden can build back fossil free read the press statement here.

Last month, CJA members UPROSE and New York City Environmental Justice Alliance (NYC-EJA) along with their allies in the PEAK Coalition successfully halted the repowering of a large gas peaker plant in the Astoria neighborhood of New York City. The PEAK Coalition, originally formed in the fall of 2020, has been advocating for a system of localized renewable energy generation and battery storage to replace peaker plants and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Their most recent battle had been an organizing effort to stop the city from approving NRG Energy, Inc’s petition for a Title V air permit to operate NRG’s Astoria Gas Turbine Power Plant. The plant, a highly polluting peaker plant, is located in a section of Western Queens packed with gas-fired power plants and known locally as “Asthma Alley.”

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) decided to reject the proposed project, agreeing with the PEAK Coalition’s argument that the project, located in an environmental justice community, is not compliant with the state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). The CLCPA mandates that New York must transition to a zero-emission electric sector by 2040, leaving no room for new gas. They also rejected NRG’s claims that hydrogen would meet this zero-emission mandate, citing technology, feasibility, and nitrogen oxide emissions concerns that have been raised by Clean Energy Group and others. The decision sets a precedent for shutting down New York City’s remaining fossil-fuel peakers and provides a model for opposition campaigns in other states.