A new year, a new Congress, and new historic climate funding from the Inflation Reduction Act spur us forward. Even though control of Congress is split, we believe that climate policy is still on the table – especially if our nation’s leaders are willing to set their differences aside and find common ground.
The good news is – beyond what lies ahead on Capitol Hill – the Green For All team will continue to make strides toward advancing climate equity by ensuring that historic Inflation Reduction Act funding reaches communities that need it most. Even with the new opportunities and challenges that await in the new year, our work is not slowing down. Together, we will continue to fight for a world beyond poverty and pollution - where climate solutions are transformed into opportunities for those most impacted by it.
Devising policy strategies with diverse stakeholders
The Green For All team at Dream.Org rounded out 2022 by hosting our first Green For All Policy Convening in Washington, D.C. Over 30 policy and thought leaders from 18 different organizations with a wide range of backgrounds, political affiliations, and expertise gathered to collaboratively navigate advocacy opportunities and challenges in 2023. Regardless of political leaning, approximately 90% of attendees identified racial equity and directing climate investments as top priorities, and 89% were eager to work across party lines to achieve common goals.
Conversations were focused on how to work across lines of political difference to achieve shared goals, including implementing the Inflation Reduction Act, creating economic opportunities, and identifying legislative priorities for the new year. Through a day of discussion and dialogue, attendees aligned on reforming the permitting processes for clean energy projects, prioritizing climate investments for both rural and urban communities, and creating a National Green Bank.
Participants were empowered to continue to collaborate with stakeholders across the country with different backgrounds and political ideologies. New partnerships were formed despite these differences and were rooted in empathy and honest communication. Stay tuned for a deeper dive into the data coming out of the Green For All Policy Convening, and how it will influence our work this coming year!
Championing equity in green finance
Dream.Org’s Green for All staff participated in the Milken Institute’s 2023 Public Finance Forum - Anchoring Equity and Innovation, a forum that convened the leading innovators, investors, and advocates across the $4 trillion public finance sector who fund essential community infrastructure projects and services.
Forum programming focused on addressing domestic U.S. deployment and capacity challenges and explored emerging opportunities and critical trends in internal public finance. The Green for All team served as a resource to conference participants on Justice 40 – the Biden Administration’s goal to ensure 40% of the benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution.
Our participation furthered Green For All’s 2023 policy priorities by advocating for pre-development costs like capacity building and technical assistance, creating economic development opportunities for Black and Brown communities, and leveraging private sector funding through a National Green Bank. As John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy, pointed out in his conference keynote presentation, “these investments are transformational for communities across the country.” If we are successful in our efforts, we can help the U.S. reach carbon neutrality by 2050 while delivering concrete benefits to communities of color.
Next month, Dream.Org is sponsoring the SGC Catalyst Conference in collaboration with the Milken Institute and the California Strategic Growth Council on February 1-2, where we will deepen our analysis of best practices related to sustainable and equitable community transformation.
