Friend,

As we reflect today on what we've accomplished together in 2019, we want to share some of our work from the past year to advance racial justice and equity.

Today and every day, all of us at the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) are committed to rooting climate action in racial and economic justice. We do this to ensure that the communities most impacted by climate change are at the center of climate solutions. That's why over the past year we've talked more about the inextricable link between protecting the planet and advancing racial, economic, and social justice to build a more equitable world.

These commitments have changed and shaped how we support pro-environment leaders, advance policies to protect our air and water, and work in solidarity with communities to advance climate justice.

As we reflect today on what we've accomplished together in 2019, we want to share some of our work from the past year to advance racial justice and equity in our policy, environmental advocacy, and electoral work.

Thank you for doing this intentional work with us — because our earth is worth fighting for.

Adam, Brooke, ChiQuita, Casey, Elizabeth, Eric, Levi, Mike, Jim, Julie, Rachel, Sammi, and Vinnie
LCV Membership Team

To confront the escalating climate crisis, LCV joined environmental justice and national environmental groups to put together an Equitable and Just National Climate Platform. This bold and historic platform calls for national climate action that confronts racial, economic, and environmental injustice in tandem with reducing climate pollution and accelerates a pollution-free energy future that benefits all communities.

From supporting the first Latina mayor in Tucson, Arizona to helping elect a historic wave of diverse legislators in Virginia to swearing in the most diverse U.S. House of Representatives in history, LCV Victory Fund and our partners in the Conservation Voter Movement worked to elect diverse leaders who will fight to ensure that all communities have access to clean air, safe drinking water, and a healthy environment. We supported candidates who make our government more representative of our country because we believe representation matters.

LCV's 2018 National Environmental Scorecard showed that the former leadership in the House of Representatives failed to protect our health and environment and continued to rubber-stamp the Trump administration's overwhelmingly anti-environment agenda. However, members of color in the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) did the exact opposite. Members of these groups, collectively referred to as the Tri-Caucus, spoke out and overwhelmingly voted against attacks on the environmental policies that posed threats to the health and safety of communities of color.

LCV and our state affiliates have continued to advance progress on clean energy at the state and local level. As a part of our work for Clean Energy For All, the Conservation Voter Movement strives to advance climate justice and ensures that those most impacted by pollution and climate change — especially communities of color and low-income communities — are prioritized in our transition to 100% clean economy.

To that end, Chispa's Clean Buses for Health Ninos campaign won major legislative victories in Nevada and Maryland to transition dirty diesel school buses to clean, electric school buses. And we are working to ensure that this transition is prioritized in schools that serve communities of color and low-income communities that are the most burdened by pollution from these buses.

In Washington state, our partners at Washington Conservation Voters worked with a diverse coalition to pass a commitment to transition to 100% clean energy by 2045. The state's commitment will boost jobs and strengthen energy equity through provisions that increase funding for energy assistance programs for low-income households, and it incorporates equity considerations as new sources of electricity are developed. The bill also ensures new clean energy jobs that include strong worker protections and pay family sustaining wages.

Our partners at Conservation Colorado helped pass 13 leading climate policies, including legislation that incorporates requirements to identify disproportionately impacted communities, consider equitable distribution of compliance benefits, and establishes a formal Just Transition office in state government.

LCV and Chispa joined young people across the country to call on global leaders to act on climate justice. While Greta Thurnberg has gotten a lot of well-deserved credit for her work to hold global leaders accountable, this movement has also been led by Indigenous youth, youth of color, and youth from communities that are on the front lines of climate impacts. Leaders like Jerome Foster II, Quannah Chasinghorse, and Isra Hirsi have shown us our fight to save the planet is inextricably linked to protecting Indigenous sovereignty, holding polluters accountable, and advancing environmental justice. These incredible young people organized hundreds of protests throughout the year and our staff, organizers, volunteers, and members like you have been proud to join them to demand climate justice now.