Dear Friend,

When we look back on 2021, we may remember it first and foremost as a year of resilience and opportunity. 

Despite our country's continued experience of global pandemic, systemic racism, economic hardship, and the climate crisis, people across the country rallied together to push for progress: COVID-19 vaccine distribution and the re-opening of nonessential businesses. Voting rights legislation passed through the U.S. House and the most diverse White House Cabinet in our nation’s history. Clean energy progress in the states and Biden-Harris administrative action to advance the strongest clean cars standards ever and transition the federal fleet to all-electric.

The January 2021 inauguration of a trifecta of pro-climate, pro-justice leadership to the White House, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House was a critical feat that our movement played a key role in achieving. It has resulted in crucial climate and environmental justice progress throughout 2021, including:

• President Biden signing important executive orders to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement, stop the Keystone XL pipeline, halt drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and halt construction of the xenophobic and racist border wall.
• Enactment of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which contains badly needed investments in electric vehicle charging stations and electric school buses, replacement of harmful lead service lines to make drinking water safer, clean technology research and development, grid modernization, and more.
• Reinstatement of environmental regulations that were rolled back under the Trump administration, including rules that protect rivers, streams, and wetlands; make cars cleaner and more efficient; and restore protections for public lands, including Bears Ears, Grand Staircase Escalante, and Northeast Seamounts.
• Passage of democracy legislation in the U.S. House, including the Protecting Our Democracy Act, the Freedom to Vote Act, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, and the Washington, D.C. Admission Act. (The Senate must still act, and LCV has called for eliminating the filibuster rule so that critical voting rights legislation can move forward.)

Alongside this federal progress, we’ve also seen exciting state-level climate and clean energy progress over the past year — thanks in no small part to the work of LCV's Clean Energy for All campaign and our 30+ state affiliates. State-level wins include the enactment of the Illinois Climate & Equitable Jobs Act — the most comprehensive, equitable climate and energy bill in the nation — and the recent passage of a net-zero carbon goal by Nebraska's largest public utility board.

These successes are only possible because of the continued support of donors like you. Your investment in LCV’s work, year after year, ensures that we have the resources to advocate and organize for a healthy, safe, and just future for all. Thank you. 

And now, here is your Special Edition of LCV’s Top 10, 2021 Year in Review, listed in chronological order of the months these news items were published:
 

	THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW After years of working to shape policy, elect climate champions to Congress, and hold them accountable, we are on the verge of solidifying historic legislation that will make a real impact against the climate crisis. The Build Back Better Act will cut climate emissions, create good-paying union jobs, and invest directly in communities of color who unfairly bear the brunt of pollution and climate-related disasters. Thanks to LCV supporters and activists in every state — including you — we made sure that members of Congress prioritized bold climate action in this bill, and, in November, the U.S. House passed the Act on a 220-213 vote. This is huge — but we're not done yet! The fate of the bill — the most transformational climate legislation ever — will now be decided by the U.S. Senate. The best thing you can do right now is write to your senator and tell them to prioritize climate action and pass the Build Back Better Act.