With or Without the White House, Climate Action Moves Forward
Elevate Energy disagrees strongly with President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement, which commits the United States and 180 other countries to voluntarily reduce emissions that contribute to climate change.
Despite the disappointing decision from the White House, all is not lost. There are hundreds of committed groups like Elevate Energy across the country that are continuing to develop and implement innovative climate change solutions that also encourage economic development. For instance:
- Elevate Energy recently helped pass the Illinois Future Energy Jobs Act, state legislation that will increase energy efficiency programs generally and especially for low-income households, create a new community solar program that will directly target low-income communities, and provide job training to ensure environmental justice communities will benefit from jobs created by the bill.
- Outside of Illinois, we are working with an array of partners to expand energy efficiency programs in other states and cities by providing a blueprint to accelerate the growth of leading-edge efficiency programs for multifamily housing that result in unprecedented energy savings.
- Even at the federal level, Elevate Energy is providing technical assistance to teams participating in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar in Your Community Challenge, a $5 million contest to support innovative and replicable community-based solar business models and programs that will bring solar to underserved communities.
“The most devastating impacts of climate change will fall on families in low-income communities, which is why we are firmly invested in advancing policies and programs that bring the benefits of a clean energy economy to those that need them most,” said Elevate Energy CEO Anne Evens. “With or without leadership in the White House, we will continue to fight for and with low-income communities for equitable access to these benefits.”
