Happy New Year NRDC Activist!

I want to take a moment to thank the thousands of people like you who have supported the work of NRDC in 2022. Your support makes all of our work possible.

Looking back on the past year, one of the biggest highlights was our hard-fought passage of federal climate legislation. The landmark Inflation Reduction Act includes $369 billion in new strategic investment to speed the growth of clean energy and tackle climate change — the biggest such investment in U.S. history!

And then there were the 2022 midterm elections, which defied historical trends and demonstrated the strong support for climate champions across the country. That includes preserving — and growing — our pro-environment majority in the U.S. Senate with Senator Raphael Warnock's critical runoff win in Georgia.

Looking ahead to 2023, I cannot wait to build on this progress together.

I know I don't have to tell you that these are truly unprecedented times. We are facing multiple, compounding crises: a crisis of climate, a crisis of nature, and a crisis of inequality. And the window to confront the climate crisis is closing quickly. We know we must go bigger, must go bolder, and must go faster on solutions.

But now, on the first day of this new year, it's important that we focus on the opportunities we have before us to build a cleaner, more equitable, and more prosperous future. The Biden administration and Congress both have a role to play in making sure critical clean energy incentives are effective at shrinking our carbon footprint and delivering on benefits already improving the lives of people in red states and blue.

With your support, NRDC will fight in 2023 and beyond to:

• Secure sufficient funding to implement the Inflation Reduction Act
• Secure strong federal rules and safeguards to reduce power plant pollution, a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, and other pollutants that plague the health of all, especially disadvantaged communities
• Clean up dirty cars and trucks, expand electric vehicles, and grow EV charging infrastructure
• Remove dangerous lead drinking water pipes from millions of homes across America
• Stop climate-busting methane leaks from the oil and gas industry and block new oil and gas drilling on our public lands and in our coastal waters, all while expanding clean energy
• Work with Congress to pass critical farm legislation that protects our land and climate, saves pollinators, and strengthens food security for disadvantaged communities
• Ramp up our work internationally, especially in critically important countries like China and India, to reduce global greenhouse emissions effectively and equitably

Of course, NRDC's legal team — the Earth's best defense — will also be fighting in court to protect our environmental laws. And we have our work cut out for us after the Trump administration stacked the courts — including the Supreme Court — with ideological judges. But the courts are still our last, best line of defense against anti-environment attacks — and NRDC's lawyers will be there, fighting back every step of the way.

And one of the single best assets we have in this movement is you. For these upcoming fights in 2023, we will call on the millions of NRDC members and supporters like you to get involved — writing letters, signing petitions, making calls, rallying your friends and neighbors, and taking to the streets to push people in power to listen and take action.

I believe we CAN change the course of the future, for the better. As a father, I know that we simply MUST. My children are 15 and 12. Their generation is watching all these crises unfold all around them and wondering what the future holds. We have a responsibility to give them a reason to be hopeful. We have a responsibility to build them a better world.

And with NRDC on the job, backed by your support, I believe we WILL succeed.

Here's to more good work together in 2023!

Sincerely,

Manish Bapna
President, NRDC