As Trump threatens to destroy the electricity supply of a nation of 93 million people, one thing is crystal clear: we, collectively, must get better at building, winning, and holding power.
In the coming months and years, we must build a movement powerful enough to defeat authoritarianism, defend democracy, and halt the climate crisis. But that’s hard to do, when we’re constantly reacting to the latest insanity pouring out of the White House.
This is one of the reasons that I’m so excited about our Local Leads, Global Impacts program. It’s all about building movement power and capacities over the long term.
Led by our organizing manager, Jenny Xie, Local Leads is a 9-month leadership development program. The goal is to train, mentor, and support organizers who are leading campaigns to end fossil fuels and hold corporate power accountable.
In February, a cohort of fourteen campaigners began the inaugural Local Leads program. The participants are assigned a mentor, meet regularly as a network, and engage in more than a dozen specialized trainings, led by organizing experts from labor unions like CWA and AFT, and groups, such as Little Sis.
One of the participants in the Local Leads program is Camalot Todd. Camalot lives in Nevada, a state that’s seen a rooftop solar boom since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022. In response to losing market share to solar however, the methane gas-loving utility, NV Energy, has looked to protect its profits in a variety of ways.
The most odious of NV Energy’s proposals is an extra “Daily Demand Charge” on consumers. This proposal would charge customers in Southern Nevada an extra fee based on their highest fifteen minutes of energy use each day. The charge would penalize working families, who can’t space their energy use throughout the day.
Nevada Energy’s proposal would also penalize families who own an EV, or transition their gas boiler to an electric heat pump, and industry experts warn it could undermine economic incentives to install rooftop solar.
Working with partners from the NV Environmental Justice Coalition, Camalot has been leading the fight back against NV Energy―and after Camalot, a journalist by training, placed this piece in the Nevada Current last month, the campaign blew up in a major way.
Faced with mounting pressure, NV Energy first postponed the implementation of the new charge from April 1st to October 1st. And last week, the Public Utility Commission postponed it further, until Jan 1st 2027.
That’s a huge win. But they’re not finished. Working with state legislators, they’re now readying legislation that would kill the daily demand charge altogether.
If they’re successful, Cam and partners will have saved working class families money and helped maintain the conditions enabling Nevada’s boom in rooftop solar energy. But that’s not all.
In November, Nevada will be home to one of the most competitive gubernatorial races in the country.
And, some experts in Nevada are predicting that NV Energy’s proposal, and the pressure campaign in response to it, could have a real impact on the bearing of the outcome of the Governor’s race.
Which makes sense: energy affordability is a massive political issue right now. And while Trumpian current-Governor, Joe Lombardo, appointed the commissioners who backed the new charge, his opponent in the race, NV Attorney General, Aaron Ford, has sued to stop it.
When I spoke with Cam last week about the campaign and what she was getting out of participating in Local Leads while running this campaign, she told me:
“I knew that I wanted to build up the leadership of others through this campaign. But I’ve never been trained as an organizer and I didn’t know how to do that. The Local Leads program is teaching me how to ensure that I’m investing in others’ leadership at every stage of this campaign and building the movement for years to come, in an equity-centered way.”
Speaking with Camalot was a joy. Leaving the call, it was clear to me she’s exactly the kind of leader we want to support―someone who is deeply dedicated, smart, and committed to this work for the long haul.
And she’s not alone. Other campaigners in the Local Leads program are leading or co-leading Make Polluters Pay campaigns in Washington State and New Jersey, supporting the campaign to win a public bank in San Francisco, leading efforts to get cities from Boston to Berkeley to push their banks on climate action, and leading frontline community organizing efforts to stop new fossil fuel projects in the Gulf South.
Our hope with the Local Leads program is that we can play a small but important role in supporting these dedicated, courageous campaigners – and help not only win the campaigns they’re leading right now, but strengthen our movements for the long-haul.
In Solidarity
– Alec Connon, Stop the Money Pipeline coalition director
News & Updates from the Coalition
– Sarah Confronts Oil Execs & Goes Viral
Our team joined our friends in the Gulf South to confront CERA Week, the annual gathering of fossil fuel executives and Wall Street financiers in Houston, Texas. While there, our campaign manager, Sarah Lasoff, had a lovely conversation with two top oil executives. Their conversation has since been viewed by more than 2.7 million people.
Check out the video – and check out the love for Sarah in the comments section!
– We’re visiting Wells Fargo… 200 times
We’re teaming up with Wells Fargo Workers United to build power to win on labor and climate demands. On Monday, May 4th, we’re teaming up with workers to deliver union gift bags to 200+ Wells Fargo branches across a dozen cities, inviting WF workers to learn how to unionize their branch at in-person and virtual happy hours.
If you’re interested in getting involved in the day of action, email Sarah.
– Climate change is making your home less affordable… but it doesn’t have to
As insurance companies respond to the climate crisis by gouging customers, we’re fighting to pass the Insure our Communities Act in New York State. The bill would force insurance companies to stop underwriting & investing in new fossil fuel projects and provide critical consumer protections.
Since last month, the coalition backing the bill has grown to include tenants unions, housing associations, NY community organizations, and some of the largest climate groups in the country. If you’re in New York, join the campaign by filling out this form.
We’re also paying close attention to a series of bills in CA, HI, and NY that would enable state attorneys general to sue the fossil fuel industry on behalf of residents whose premiums have soared in the face of climate disasters, and we’re backing a bill in CT that would put a fee on deals between the insurance industry and Big Oil to raise money for the state’s climate programs.
– Petrochemicals – the fossil fuel industry’s big bet
As the fossil fuel industry slowly but surely loses out in the energy transition, its biggest bet for the future isn’t supporting clean energy. It’s keeping us hooked on plastics. That’s why companies like ExxonMobil and Chevron are pouring money into massive expansion of petrochemical facilities.
A great new report and online tool, Toxic Finance, breaks down the role of banks and investors in the petrochemical build out that’s fueling environmental racism, as well as the climate crisis. The website includes a tool to easily track the financing behind specific projects.
– Visiting Costco to make sure they know they have Better Options
In February, we released the Better Options report, a first-of-its-kind report assessing the climate performance of the 20 largest credit card issuers in the United States.
In March, we visited Costco’s HQs to make sure their executives know they have no excuse now: they need to find a better partner for their co-branded credit card than Citigroup, the world’s second-largest funder of fossil fuel expansion. If Costco leaves Citi, it’ll be a huge deal. They’ll take 13 million credit cards with them.
Sign the petition to Costco to get all the updates about this campaign.
– 45 countries meet to discuss ending fossil fuels. Banks need to follow suit.
Between April 24th – April 29th, 45 national governments are convening in Colombia for the first-ever “Transition Away from Fossil Fuels International Conference.” Their goal? Accelerating a rapid and just phase out of fossil fuels.
However, there will be no transition away from fossil fuels if we do not address the financing of new coal, oil, and gas projects from the world’s largest banks.
That’s why we’re teaming up with a global coalition to pressure Santander, the Spanish-based bank that is the largest funder of oil & gas expansion in Latin America. Send an email to 18 of Santander’s top executives here.
– Marching on from No Kings to May Day
Our friends at the Movement to End Fossil Fuels are organizing “End Fossil Fuels” contingents to turnout on May Day. The goal is to make it clear that the fossil fuel industry is a key pillar propping up Trump’s authoritarianism. Sign up to join or organize an End Fossil Fuels contingent here.
– California is getting ready for mass non-compliance to stop Trump
If you’re in California RSVP here to join OGAN, Fossil Free California, and 350 Bay Area TODAY AT 6PM for a “Mass Non-cooperation Training” specifically tailored for climate, environmental justice, and anti-fossil fuel activists in California and the Bay Area.
– Aligning your money with your values
On Earth Day, April 22nd, our partner, Stand.earth, is hosting a free teach-in: From Paycheck to Planet – a practical, worker-focused session on what’s in your 401(k), why it matters for your financial future and the climate, and how to formally request your employer offer climate-safe investment options. RSVP here.
– Pushing Democrats to hold the line on ICE Funding
As the partial government shutdown rolls on, it’s critical that Democrats hold the line on not funding ICE without winning real concessions. Email your Members of Congress here.
– Bankrolling Palantir & the ICE enablers
Amid ICE’s ongoing campaign of terror and murder, our partners at Stand.earth released new analysis calling out the top financiers and investors of ICE’s corporate backers.
The LA Times wrote about it here, pointing out the irony that California is a Sanctuary State but its two biggest state pensions have invested more than $1.3 billion in Palantir, the mass surveillance company that’s spying on all of us and underwriting ICEs war on immigrants.
To close out this month’s newsletter, here’s the full list of the top banks funneling billions into ICE contractors. Get angry:
