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Usually, when it gets hot in Oakland, we just open up all the windows and get the ocean breeze moving through. Last summer, however, as we prepared for the second week of over 90 degree heat combined with unsafe, smoke-filled air, I panic-bought the last portable air conditioning unit that I could find. As COVID-19 cases continued to rise, the smoke and heat lasted for 30 days straight as warmer-than-normal ocean winds combined with outdated transmission lines, dry lands, and arid forests to spark more fires.
Those weeks of being stuck inside my home because of the triple whammy of heat, smoke, and the pandemic were really rough, to say the least—as were my energy bills after using that AC unit. Yet the truth is these were relatively minor inconveniences for me and my family. For many, the impacts of climate change are compounded by interrelated injustices: racism, pollution, high energy burden, and an economy that doesn’t serve the majority of us.
The need has never been more urgent—nor the opportunity greater—to strengthen the resilience of our communities. In the midst of these interlocking crises, we’ve seen that people who are closest to the problem are also closest to the solutions. That’s why we’re sharing the Ready For 100 Activist Toolkit, a roadmap to enact local clean energy solutions. The toolkit reflects what a network of community leaders all across the country have learned over the last five years as they’ve worked to get the places they live to commit to running on 100 percent clean energy.
More than 180 communities, 14 counties, 9 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico have already committed to transition to 100 percent clean energy. Each one of them has discovered unique ways to find success and hold public officials accountable. These commitments are just the first step, and so far, only one in three people in America lives in a community committed to a just and equitable transition to 100 percent clean energy. To ensure our country is powered by 100 percent clean energy by 2035, we must build 1,100 gigawatts of new renewable energy by 2030. In order to do that, we need policy certainty. We need everyone to maintain this momentum. That’s why we’re sharing our strategies, tools, and case studies. This toolkit serves as the basic framework for driving action at the local level, while leaving room for organizing around specific community needs. It’s time to follow the leadership of people on the frontlines of this movement.`
Amid Crisis, Opportunity
Even in the face of so many challenges, we have new opportunities at the federal level. The Biden administration’s recovery package includes calling for a national clean energy standard. We have a historic chance to build back better by addressing climate change, racial injustice, and unemployment all at once through a transition to 100 percent clean energy.
But the Biden administration can’t achieve this vision on its own. We need to build power on the ground, and demonstrate our support for a just, clean energy transition locally—city by city, block by block, and person by person.
Join Our National Movement Based on Local Action
To our fellow organizers working for climate justice—old and new—this is our moment. We have no time to waste. The choices we make together now will shape our society’s direction and the health of our planet for decades to come.
Localized clean energy solutions will cut pollution, create family-sustaining jobs, lower energy bills, and repair harms to vulnerable communities who suffer from environmental injustices.
We believe everybody has a right to these solutions—and we know that no two cities will have the same path to meeting their communities’ needs. That’s why we’re calling on you. That’s why we’ve launched the Activist Toolkit.
It’s time to hold our leaders—and each other—accountable for jumpstarting a just energy transition. Clean energy is powering us toward a brighter future, and so are you.
