Elevate Joins 60+ Organizations in Supporting Federal Policy Agenda for Tackling Extreme Heat

Illinois – Elevate, a nonprofit organization based in Chicago that designs and implements programs to ensure access to clean and affordable heat, cooling, power, and water in homes and communities across the nation, joined the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), a non-partisan, nonprofit science think tank dedicated to developing  evidence-based policies to address national threats, in unveiling the 2025 Heat Policy Agenda. This strategy provides specific, actionable policy ideas to tackle the growing threat of extreme heat in the United States – an issue that now affects all 50 states and costs the country more than $160 billion annually. The Heat Policy Agenda was co-signed by more than 60 labor, industry, health, housing, environmental, academic and community associations and organizations.

“As an organization dedicated to ensuring that all communities have access to affordable clean energy solutions, Elevate is committed to addressing the growing threat of extreme heat,” said CEO of Elevate, Dr. Anne Evens. “The 2025 Heat Policy Agenda offers a clear roadmap for protecting vulnerable populations and creating resilient communities. We are proud to join this coalition and advocate for policies that will safeguard the health and well-being of individuals nationwide, especially those most at risk during climate crises.”

“The 2025 Heat Policy Agenda lays out a comprehensive strategy for how to build U.S. resilience to extreme heat using science, technology, and evidence-based solutions,” says Daniel Correa, CEO of the Federation of American Scientists. “These ideas are also designed to increase government efficiency, protect critical infrastructure, and secure our Nation’s economy. We look forward to helping political leaders pursue rapid implementation of this critical agenda with the ultimate goal of protecting the health and wellbeing of people across the nation.”

Rollout of the Heat Policy Agenda comes as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirms 2024 as the hottest year on record, continuing a sustained trend. The 10 warmest years in modern history have all occurred during the past decade.

Rollout also comes as catastrophic wildfires around Los Angeles provide a stark reminder of the lingering effects of extreme heat, and the interconnected nature of climate effects.

“Prolonged summer heat left vegetation in southern California bone-dry, making it that much easier for wildfires to explode unchecked,” explains Dr. Hannah Safford, FAS Associate Director of Climate and Environment. “Summer heat also depleted water resources critical for firefighting, and made it difficult to safely reduce fuel loads. The crisis we’re seeing around Los Angeles this winter underscores that we have to think about heat year-round – not just when it’s hot outside.”

The Heat Policy Agenda presents clear and specific actions the federal government can take to protect people, places, and the economy from the effects of extreme heat. These include:

• Establishing a clear, sustained federal governance structure for extreme heat.
• Amending the Stafford Act to explicitly define extreme heat as a “major disaster”, thereby unlocking federal relief funds during heat waves.
• Including extreme heat as a core component of national preparedness and public-health capabilities.
• Retaining and expanding critical federal programs that prepare homes and other infrastructure against threats like power outages.
• Transforming the built and landscaped environment through strategic investments in urban forestry and green infrastructure to cool communities, transportation systems to secure safe movement of people and goods, and power infrastructure to ready for greater load demand.

“As a Nation, we’ve underinvested in extreme heat relative to other natural hazards – but heat kills more people each year than hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods combined,” observes Grace Wickerson, FAS Health Equity Policy Manager. “Our 2025 Heat Policy Agenda addresses this emerging public health crisis from the ground up, with an emphasis on protecting children, the elderly, and other vulnerable populations.”

The 2025 Heat Policy Agenda represents insights and perspectives from hundreds of practitioners, technical experts, and community leaders. The full list of organizations co-signing the Agenda and urging immediate policy action on extreme heat is listed below. Please fill out this form if your organization would like to be added to this list.

SIGNATORIES URGING POLICY ACTION ON EXTREME HEAT

Alliance of Nurses for a Healthy Environment

American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees

American Forests

American Lung Association

Arizona State University’s Knowledge Exchange for Resilience

Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs

Association of State and Territorial Health Officials

California ReLeaf

Center for American Progress

Center for Biological Diversity

Center for Energy Poverty and Climate

Center for Invasive Species Prevention

Children’s Environmental Health Network

Climate Mayors

Climate Power

Climate Resilience Center

Climate Resolve

Dade County Street Response

Earth Ethics, Inc.

Elevate

Energy Equity Project

Federation of American Scientists

Food Tank

Green Roofs for Healthy Cities

Grid Alternatives

Groundwork USA

ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability

Institute for Market Transformation

King County, Washington

Korey Stringer Institute

La Isla Network

League of Conservation Voters

MetroLab Network

Moms Clean Air Force

National Center for Healthy Housing

National Coalition for the Homeless

National Consumer Law Center

National Council on Occupational Safety and Health

National Employment Law Project

National Energy Assistance Directors Association

National Partnership for Women & Families

National Recreation and Parks Association

National Young Farmers Coalition

Natural Resources Defense Council

New America Future of Land and Housing Program

Next100

Organizing Resilience

Physicians for Social Responsibility

Rebuild by Design

Smart Growth America

Smart Home America

Smart Surfaces Coalition

Southeast Sustainability Directors Network

Ten Across Resilience Network

The CLEO Institute

The New Buildings Institute

The Passive House Network

Toxic Free NC

Trust for Public Land

Undaunted K12

Union of Concerned Scientists

Urban Sustainability Directors Network

We Act for Environmental Justice

WeCount!

Women with Broken Heals

Yale Center on Climate Change and Health

ABOUT ELEVATE

Elevate is a nonprofit organization that works nationally and is headquartered in Chicago. Elevate designs and implements programs to ensure that everyone has clean and affordable heat, cooling, power, and water in their homes and communities —no matter who they are or where they live. For more information, visit our website at elevatenp.org. 

ABOUT FAS

The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) works to advance progress on a broad suite of contemporary issues where science, technology, and innovation policy can deliver dramatic progress, and seeks to ensure that scientific and technical expertise have a seat at the policymaking table. Established in 1945 by scientists in response to the atomic bomb, FAS continues to work on behalf of a safer, more equitable, and more peaceful world. More information about FAS work at fas.org.

ABOUT THIS COALITION

More than 60 labor, health, industry, environmental, and community organizations join with the Federation of American Scientists to support the 2025 Heat Policy Agenda, a comprehensive, common-sense strategy to tackle the growing threat of extreme heat in the United States. This call for action comes as 2024 is officially declared the hottest year on record, continuing a sustained trend. Extreme heat now affects tens of millions of Americans each year, and costs the country more than $160 billion annually in health costs, lost productivity, and other impacts. Rapid implementation of the 2025 Heat Policy Agenda will mitigate heat impacts, boosting the U.S. economy and making it safer for all Americans to live, work, and play.

RESOURCES

Extreme Heat Policy Agenda