©2024 League of Conservation Voters
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Your weekly resource to learn what the environmental movement is saying about the news of the day and the political fight of our generation. Be sure to follow LCV on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, BlueSky, and TikTok.
“Some may seek to deny or delay the clean energy revolution that’s underway in America, but nobody — nobody — can reverse it. Nobody.”
— President Biden in a speech during his historic trip to the Amazon.
“Indigenous knowledge simply must play a guiding role for us in the decision making of government.”
— Laura Daniel-Davis, the Interior Department’s acting deputy secretary on Indigenous climate collaboration at COP29.
“Mark my words: We will show them. Because we’re moving ahead. We’ll show them. We’ll get this done, and people will be behind it.”
— Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey on offshore wind energy skepticism.
BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION APPROVES $544 MILLION LOAN TO CUT EV CHARGING TIMES: The Department of Energy (DOE) finalized a loan for a proposed manufacturing facility in Michigan, which would produce materials that can reduce long charging times for electric vehicles, an issue many cite as a drawback to purchasing an EV. The loan aligns with the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of creating a zero-emission transportation system by 2050, and comes amid a push to finalize energy initiatives before the incoming administration takes over.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT (HUD) CROSSES IRA FUNDING FINISH LINE: HUD completed the final round of funding for its Green and Resilient Retrofit Program, distributing over $1.43 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act for climate resilient upgrades to affordable housing across the U.S. and Puerto Rico. The program enhances energy efficiency, reduces emissions, and improves resilience to natural hazards, benefiting over 30,000 homes for low-income families, seniors, and individuals with disabilities. The final round of funding, totalling $30 million, supported renewable energy upgrades, water efficiency, and climate-resilient construction for 45 properties in 23 states.
STABENOW INTRODUCES TEXT FOR AN UPDATED FARM BILL: Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) released an updated draft farm bill that incorporates numerous bipartisan provisions that deliver for farmers, our families, and the environment.
OUR TAKE: LCV Healthy Communities Program Director Madeleine Foote said, “LCV applauds Chairwoman Stabenow for her strong commitment to our farmers, our families, and the planet. Stabenow’s Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act ensures farmers can be a part of the climate solution by preserving the Inflation Reduction Act’s climate-smart agriculture funding, and offers an additional $39 billion in new resources to help farmers continue putting food on the table in communities across the country. LCV urges members of Congress to advance a Farm Bill that reflects Chair Stabenow’s popular vision of an agricultural system that truly benefits farmers, fights the climate crisis, supports rural communities, and protects our land and water.”
MILCV TAKE: Michigan LCV Federal Government Affairs Director Bentley Johnson said, “Senator Stabenow’s updated Farm Bill includes strong provisions to make sure farmers can feed our communities and be a key part of the solution to protect land, water, and our health. Senator Stabenow has made it crystal clear for more than a year now that investments in climate-smart agriculture, conservation, and water quality programs are going to be priorities in any Farm Bill that is advanced under her watch, and she is keeping that promise. It couldn’t come at a more important time for Michigan as we continue to see toxic algae, beach closures, soil erosion, and pressure on farmers and families to make ends meet. We hope that her colleagues in Congress recognize the opportunity to support our food systems, our health, and our future by advancing policies that support climate-smart and conservation practices on our working farm lands.”
TRUMP PICKS SEAN DUFFY TO LEAD DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION: President-elect Donald Trump has announced that he will nominate Fox News host, former reality TV star, and former U.S. Representative Sean Duffy to be his administration’s transportation secretary. Duffy has suggested that climate change is caused by the sun and holds a 2% lifetime score on LCV’s National Environmental Scorecard.
OUR TAKE: LCV Vice President of Federal Policy Matthew Davis said, “Trump’s decision to nominate Sean Duffy, who was just spewing misinformation about COP, ‘alternative science’ and ‘climate alarmists’ is sadly par for the course. With a LCV lifetime score of 2%– tying him for lowest score of a prospective nominee so far – Duffy has a history of disregarding the real impacts of the climate crisis on our families, communities and environment. Given that transportation accounts for 28 percent of our country’s climate pollution, the single largest polluting sector, we need a Secretary of Transportation who understands how clean transportation solutions can help fight the climate crisis and protect our communities from health-harming pollution.”
TRUMP SELECTS CHRIS WRIGHT TO LEAD DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY: President-elect Donald Trump has said that he will name Chris Wright, an oil executive, to be his administration’s energy secretary. Wright is the CEO of fracking company, Liberty Energy, and has been a vocal climate change denier and opponent of clean energy.
OUR TAKE: LCV SVP of Government Affairs Tiernan Sittenfeld said, “It is not surprising, but still appalling that Trump’s pick for Secretary of Energy is a climate-denying Big Oil executive. With the nomination of Chris Wright, Trump is following through on the $1 billion offer he made to Big Oil at a dinner this spring. With no experience in government, Wright will be primed to continue Trump’s and Project 2025’s extreme agenda of prioritizing Big Polluters over our families, communities, consumers, and the environment. But the clean energy economy is here to stay, and we are all in to defend both bedrock environmental laws and the recent climate progress that is creating jobs and lowering energy costs for families across the country.”
TRUMP SELECTS NEW ATTORNEY GENERAL NOMINEE: After his previous attorney general pick, Matt Gaetz, dropped out of the running on Thursday, President-elect Donald Trump announced plans to nominate former Florida Attorney General and corporate lobbyist Pam Bondi to take his place.
OUR TAKE: LCV Senior Director of Judiciary & Democracy Doug Lindner said, “Pam Bondi is a corporate lobbyist with ties to a foreign oil monarchy, and has a clear anti-climate, anti-democracy record. As Florida’s Attorney General she put Big Polluters and corporate interests over the health and safety of communities. She shut down a fraud investigation into Trump University after Trump made an illegal $25,000 donation to her PAC, and she currently holds millions of dollars of stock in Trump’s social media company. Bondi denied the 2020 election results, publicly supported Donald Trump in his criminal cases, and represented him in his well-deserved first impeachment.
No one is above the law, but the President-elect has repeatedly promised and tried to manipulate the Justice Department to protect himself and his allies while persecuting political opponents and dissenters. Trump’s latest prospective nominee to be the nation’s top law enforcement officer shows this new administration will serve his own corrupt and dangerous ends while threatening the rights of the people and protections for our communities and environment.“
EPA PROPOSES NEW RULE ON NOX STANDARDS: EPA proposed updated standards for smog- and soot-forming nitrogen oxides (NOx) pollution from most new or modified gas-fired power plants, which are estimated to deliver $340 million in net benefits and cut thousands of tons of NOx pollution.
OUR TAKE: LCV Vice President of Federal Policy and former EPA scientist Matthew Davis said, “The Biden-Harris administration’s proposed rule is an important and long-overdue step towards limiting dangerous smog and soot-forming pollution from new methane gas power plants that will deliver hundreds of millions of dollars in health benefits. Reducing new gas plants’ health-harming air pollution will help children and their parents breathe easier and put an end to Big Polluters decades-old free ride polluting our communities–particularly communities of color and communities of low wealth that are targeted by fossil fuel utilities pushing to build new plants. But more must be done to protect our communities, we must ensure that all new gas plants are covered and limit pollution from any plants burning hydrogen, too. The health science is clear, the technology exists, the record supports it, and the law requires it. We will continue to press the EPA to improve on these important clean air safeguards and will hold the future Trump administration accountable to the court-ordered deadline to finalize a protective rule in November 2025.”
LCV ACTION FUND CANDIDATES VICTORIOUS IN OHIO, PENNSYLVANIA: Pro-climate, pro-democracy candidates have emerged victorious in Ohio and Pennsylvania. LCV congratulates these candidates on their wins.
LCV AND ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS URGE CONGRESS TO PROTECT ENVIRONMENTAL FUNDING: LCV and 64 environmental organizations sent a letter to members of Congress urging them to pass modest spending increases for environmental programs without poison pill riders in the Fiscal Year (FY25) Appropriations Bills.
COALITION TAKE: From the letter, “The only path forward for Fiscal Year 2025 spending bills, this year or next, is to follow the broadly bipartisan lead of the Senate Appropriations Committee and enact modest funding increases for environmental programs with no new poison pill policy riders or attacks on the Inflation Reduction Act’s groundbreaking climate and environmental programs.”
ICYMI: LCV LAUNCHES 2024 NEW MEMBER GUIDE: Last week, LCV welcomed new members of Congress and launched the 2024 New Member Guide, which summarizes the backgrounds and environmental positions of newly elected federal candidates endorsed or financially supported by LCV Action Fund or state LCV partners.
OUR TAKE: LCV Senior Vice President for Government Affairs Tiernan Sittenfeld said, “These new members of Congress are champions who will fight for clean air and water, protect our public lands, defend recent climate and clean energy progress, and safeguard our democracy. Trump and MAGA Republicans have made their anti-climate agenda clear, and we’re all in to fight alongside pro-environment, pro-democracy champions including our newest members of Congress to tackle the climate crisis and environmental injustice.”
ICYMI: LCV RELEASES MEMO ON KEY STATE CLIMATE VICTORIES IN 2024: Ahead of the release of 2024 Clean Energy For All report (coming the week following Thanksgiving), LCV released a memo detailing major state, legislative, and other down ballot victories from the past year.
COURT RULING CONFIRMS YOUNGKIN ADMINISTRATION ACTED UNLAWFULLY IN TAKING VIRGINIA OUT OF RGGI PROGRAM: A judge ruled that Governor Glenn Youngkin’s withdrawal of Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is unlawful. Since Virginia exited the program, pollution has increased back to historic levels and the Commonwealth has been without a dedicated funding source for flood prevention and energy efficiency programs, leaving more communities in harm’s way and without tools to reduce their energy burden.
VALCV TAKE: Virginia LCV Executive Director Michael Town said, “Virginia’s membership in RGGI gave the Commonwealth a critical tool to combat the climate crisis, hold polluters accountable, protect communities against flooding and extreme weather, and lower household energy costs. The Youngkin Administration’s illegal actions taking Virginia out of this program benefited no one except our state’s biggest polluters. The end result of this illegal rollback was dirtier air, more communities left exposed to floodwaters, and fewer tools to help Virginians cut energy costs. We are incredibly pleased with this ruling and hope to see Virginia rejoin RGGI as soon as possible.”
NEW JERSEYANS FACE NATURAL GAS RATE INCREASES: New rates for gas customers approved by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) this week will raise bills by nearly 16% for ratepayers. The BPU cited gas infrastructure upgrades as the reasoning for the rate hikes. Gas bill increases like these emphasize the importance of transitioning to clean, renewable energy to address rising costs as well as public health and environmental concerns.
NEW JERSEY LCV TAKE: New Jersey LCV Executive Director Ed Potosnak said, “Not only will clean power drive down costs by increasing energy supply, but it also helps improve public health, creates good local jobs, reduces air pollution, addresses climate change, and makes our country energy independent. Investing in renewables isn’t just about reducing emissions; it’s about ensuring affordable, stable energy for our communities.”
MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR REINFORCES COMMITMENT TO OFFSHORE WIND: Despite the incoming Trump administration’s opposition to offshore wind, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey reaffirmed the state’s dedication to offshore wind energy, and emphasized its role in decarbonization and job creation. Speaking at an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 223 union event, Healey highlighted the collaboration between unions, private corporations, research institutions, and environmental advocates as Massachusetts’ “special sauce” to lead in clean energy innovation.
NEW YORK CITY CONGESTION PRICING PLAN APPROVED TO LAUNCH IN JANUARY 2025: The NYC congestion pricing plan, reintroduced last Thursday, is set to launch early next year after receiving state and federal approvals this week. The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority board voted to pass the plan with a new, lower $9 toll, down from the original $15 toll price. The Federal Highway Administration approved the program to begin on January 5, 2025. Congestion pricing aims to reduce vehicle traffic and pollution in Manhattan and generate revenue for public transit.
NYLCV TAKE: New York LCV President Julie Tighe said, “New Yorkers deserve less traffic, cleaner air, and robust investments in mass transit because we cannot drive our way out of the climate crisis. Thank you to Governor Hochul for championing this nation-leading congestion pricing program, a bold step that will reduce traffic congestion in Manhattan and improve air quality in communities across the New York metropolitan region. This pivotal initiative will generate essential funding to improve the MTA, making mass transit a more attractive, accessible choice for everyone. This is the right move for all New Yorkers—and a crucial investment in the future of our region.”
NEW YORK LCVEF RELEASES INTERACTIVE MAP OF LEAD PIPE RISKS FOR NEW YORKERS: Following EPA’s historic announcement of the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, the New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, released an interactive map and a comprehensive report to help New York City residents determine if the buildings where they live, visit, or work have drinking water service lines that are or may be made of lead. NYLCVEF’s map can be searched by neighborhood, borough, and legislative district, which will enable residents and public officials to advocate for themselves and their neighborhoods.
NYLCVEF TAKE: New York LCVEF Senior Vice President Josh Klainberg said, “From 1858 until 1961, New York City not only permitted the use of lead pipes but at times encouraged and required them. New York City has at the very least a moral obligation to take fiscal and logistical responsibility for the replacement of all lead pipes, a problem that it created through a toxic, 103 year-old legacy. It is our hope that the NYC Council steps up once again and cleans up this mess by introducing a local law offering its residents a free, city-run program to remove lead service lines.”
COLORADO GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES COLORADO TRANSPORTATION VISION 2035: Governor Jared Polis released the Colorado Transportation Vision 2035, which aims to reduce transportation-related air pollution and enhance livability, sustainability, and affordability across the state. It will do so by increasing cleaner multimodal transportation—such as biking, walking, and public transit—from 9% to over 19% of trips by 2035. Key objectives include expanding bike lanes, increasing public transit services, and building new housing near transit.
CoCO TAKE: Conservation Colorado CEO Kelly Nordini said, “It’s got to be convenient. It’s got to be fast, and it’s gotta go where they need to go. So that’s why the important part of this vision is almost doubling those options; giving people a lot more choices, a lot more service- that’s the key thing. We know when people have that high quality service, they love it and they use it.”
MAINE MOVES FORWARD WITH CLIMATE PLAN “NO MATTER WHO IS IN THE WHITE HOUSE”: Governor Janet Mills asserted Maine’s commitment to combating climate change with the state’s updated climate action plan entitled “Maine Won’t Wait.” The plan covers preparation for severe storms, expanded use of electric vehicles, clean energy job creation, and increased consumption of locally grown food.
MCV TAKE: Maine Conservation Voters Executive Director Maureen Drouin said, “In the face of federal headwinds, an ambitious state climate action plan is a necessity. Maine Won’t Wait recognizes that we have a responsibility to ensure a clean and healthy environment for our children, that lands, waters and wildlife are protected, and that we strengthen critical infrastructure in the face of rising sea levels and extreme weather events.”
OREGON REINSTATES CLIMATE PROTECTION PROGRAM: Oregon’s Climate Protection Program will resume in 2025 after being temporarily halted by a lawsuit filed by oil and gas companies at the end of last year. The program requires the fossil fuel industry and heavy energy users to reduce emissions 50% by 2035 and 90% by 2050 through renewable energy and carbon credits. It aims to address climate change while supporting vulnerable communities and boosting Oregon’s clean energy economy.
OLCV TAKE: Oregon LCV Executive Director Lindsey Scholten said, “With polluters set to get a free pass under another Trump administration, Oregon has flipped the script by restoring this forward-thinking program to protect our environment and hold polluters accountable.”
CHISPA NV HOLDS HOME ENERGY AFFORDABILITY INFO SESSION: On Saturday, Chispa Nevada partnered with Plan Nevada, Make the Road Nevada, and Nevada Clean Energy Fund to host a community-focused home energy and affordability information session. The event covered local energy incentives, financial assistance programs, and resources for improving home energy efficiency.
CHISPA AZ MEETS WITH ARZIONA ATTORNEY GENERAL CHRIS MAYES: Last week, Chispa Arizona joined a group of environmental and social justice organizations to meet with Attorney General Chris Mayes to discuss the challenges ahead and ways to leverage community power.
ON THE BLOG: Stay tuned for more content from The Power Source blog!
ON OUR SOCIALS: Big news! LCV is now active on BlueSky! If you’re new to the platform like we are, check out our Starter Pack of climate and democracy organizations to follow (and of course, drop us a follow while you’re at it!). On our other tried and true platforms, we are celebrating historic firsts from the 2024 election and this week’s best climate stories.
NOVEMBER 28: Thanksgiving Day.
NOVEMBER 29: Native American Heritage Day.
DECEMBER 20: Government funding expires.
DECEMBER 25: Christmas Day.
DECEMBER 25: Hanukkah begins.
DECEMBER 26: Kwanzaa begins.
JANUARY 1: New Year’s Day.
JANUARY 3: 118th Congress ends and 119th Congress begins.
©2024 League of Conservation Voters