No images? Click here Need to KnowFEDERAL - At the end of March, President Biden's administration announced who he had appointed to the Environmental Justice Advisory Council. More... - Also in March, a new bi-partisan Congressional Offshore Wind Caucus was launched. More... - Part of the stimulus package that President Biden and Congress passed last month included $100 million to go towards combatting environmental issues affecting marginalized communities. More... - Information on President Biden's infrastructure bill that has potential effects on fighting climate change. More... MULTIPLE STATES - Last December, several states in the Northeast signed onto the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI), however, its path forward is contingent on some of the states who signed onto it. More... INDIVIDUAL STATES MASSACHUSETTS - Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker recently signed a robust climate change bill into law. One of the requirements in the bill is that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will need to be net-zero by 2050. More... VIRGINIA Updates, Opportunities & ResourcesNDC Higher Education Letter to President Biden Working Paper: An All-In climate strategy can cut U.S. emissions by 50% by 2030 Sources: Graham, C. (2021, March 25). McAuliffe releases plan to address climate change, secure Virginia’s clean energy future by 2035. Augusta Free Press. URL. Hampton, L. (2021, April 9). Great Plains, Rockies oil and gas drilling ticks higher: Fed report. Reuters. URL. Johnson, T. (2021, March 26). Two big steps made in push for NJ offshore-wind industry. NJ Spotlight News. URL. Karni, A. and Tankersley, J. (2021, March 22). Infrastructure Plan Seeks to Address Climate and Equality as Well as Roads. The New York Times. URL. Lavelle, M. (2021, March 14). Environmental Justice Plays a Key Role in Biden’s Covid-19 Stimulus Package. Inside Climate News. URL. Reuters Staff. (2021, April 9). Seven takeaways from Biden's budget proposal: defense, immigration, climate. Reuters. URL. Schoenberg, S. (2021, March 25). Mariano pledges to turn South Coast into ‘hub of wind energy’. Commonwealth. URL. Shew, E. (2021, March 12). Ambitious Climate Bill Voted Out of Maryland Senate. Maryland Matters. URL. Solis, J. (2021, March 12). Clean energy strategy won’t meet clean energy goals, panel told. Nevada Current. URL. The White House. (2021, March 29). White House Announces Environmental Justice Advisory Council Members. The White House. URL. Wade, C. (2021, March 25). Climate pact hinges on other states. The Eagle-Tribune. URL. WAVY Web Staff. (2021, March 22). Congresswoman Luria launches Congressional Offshore Wind Caucus. Wavy.com. URL Our monthly policy updates, information, and opportunities to participate, are developed with support from Ceres, which is an organizational partner of Second Nature. Ceres has identified the following states plus Washington, D.C. for our primary focus - Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. - because of the beneficial legislative climates and real opportunities for policy advancements in these states. Note: The states included in each monthly Policy Update will be based on what policy updates we are recommending for that month, and are due to change - but will always be focused on the above states (plus Washington, D.C.) - from month to month. |