Monthly Policy Update - July 2020 No images? Click here Policy Update Need to KnowFEDERAL - According to the Environmental Defense Fund, there are numerous pieces of legislation in Congress currently that would support climate resilience if passed. More... - In mid-June, Democratic legislators in the U.S. House of Representatives, released information on a $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan that legislators tout will help combat climate change while also grow the economy. More... - A few weeks ago, climate activists virtually met with more than 400 Senate and House Congressional members to urge them to support a carbon tax and and economic relief for communities that have been hard hit by the coal industry. More... - Also in mid-June, the U.S. Senate passed legislation that fully funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund. It now heads to the House for consideration. More... - The United States joined many other nations this week at the International Energy Agency (IEA)'s online summit focused on implementing green recoveries from COVID-19. More... - Toward the end of March, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) implemented a policy that relaxed the pollution monitoring rules for companies due to COVID-19. Last week, the EPA announced that they will be ending that policy as of August 31. More... ILLINOIS NEW JERSEY VIRGINIA WASHINGTON D.C. Opportunities to ParticipateNOTE: The following are opportunities for colleges and universities for sign-on; not opportunities for individuals at colleges and universities. Are you an individual at a higher education institution who believes your college/university may be interested in signing onto one of these opportunities? We encourage you to reach-out to the leadership at your institution and let them know. 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 15 states plus Washington, D.C. for our primary focus - Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, 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 15 states (plus Washington, D.C.) - from month to month. Header Photo by Wil Stewart on Unsplash Sources: Beitsch, R. (2020, June 18). Democrats unveil $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan. The Hill. URL. Retrieved: 6/30/2020. Crider, J. (2020, June 26). D.C. Attorney General Is Suing Oil & Gas Companies for Their Misinformation Campaigns. Cleantechnica. URL. Retrieved: 7/1/2020. Harvey, F. (2020, June 29). US to join summit on global green recovery from Covid-19 crisis. The Guardian. URL. Retrieved: 6/30/2020. Hernandez, J. (2020, June 19). Murphy announces support for N.J. environmental justice bill. WHYY PBS NPR. URL. Retrieved: 7/1/2020. House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. (2020, June). Solving the Climate Crisis: The Congressional Action Plan for a Clean Energy Economy and a Healthy, Resilient, and Just America. Majority Staff Report. URL. Retrieved: 6/30/2020. Insure Our Future. (2020, June 23). Release: Somerville and Cambridge Join Growing Trend of Cities Calling on Insurance Companies to Stop Insuring and Investing in Fossil Fuels. Insure Our Future. URL. Retrieved: 7/1/2020. Lee, S. (2020, July 1). Virginia's Blue Wave Climate, Pollution Laws Kick In Wednesday. Bloomberg Law. URL. Retrieved: 7/1/2020. Lee, S. and Scott, Dean. (2020, June 18). Climate Activists Lobby Congress on Carbon Tax, Coal Town Relief. Bloomberg Law. URL. Retrieved: 6/30/2020. Phillips, A.M. (2020, June 22). Nevada to adopt California's stricter car pollution standards, rejecting Trump rollback. Los Angeles Times. URL. Retrived: 7/1/2020. Rupp, M. (2020, June 30). Congress is advancing bipartisan climate resilience policies in 3 key ways. Environmental Defense Fund Blog: Growing Returns. URL. Retrieved: 6/30/2020. Ruppenthal, A. (2020, June 23). What states can learn from Illinois' new COVID-19 utility relief agreement. Energy News Network. URL. Retrieved: 7/1/2020. |