YEO Policy Academies Clean Energy & Environmental Justice Pol. Academy | Page 4
From
Tom Steyer
Dear Young Elected Officials:
On behalf of NextGen Climate, I want to welcome you to our Clean
Energy and Environmental Justice Policy Academy. Over the next three
days, you’ll be hearing from some of the country’s foremost thought
leaders about how climate change, clean energy, and social justice all
intersect—it’s an exciting opportunity, and one that I hope is going to be a
ton of fun as well.
As young elected officials, you will be called on to help solve the tough
questions we face as a country: how can we accelerate our transition to
an inclusive clean energy economy? How can we overcome the political
power of the fossil fuel industry and invest in the energy of the future?
What are the policies that we can use now to safeguard our communities
and create good-paying jobs?
The answers to these questions are more important than ever, and I urge
you this weekend to learn from your peers and from the experts we’ve
brought together—and to be creative in crafting policy action plans
that answer Mother Nature’s challenge while improving the economic
prospects and health of all Americans.
Clean Energy & Environmental Justice Policy Academy | 2016
After this conference, I’d also encourage you to join NextGen Climate
in calling for more than 50 percent clean energy by 2030. There’s no
question that 2016 is going to be a critical year for our country—and for
our climate. Now, more than ever, we need a broad coalition of grassroots
activists, policy experts, and—yes—young elected officials who will push
our candidates and elected officials to be ambitious with their plans to
grow America’s clean energy economy, and reach the #50by30 goal.
In the coming year, NextGen Climate is going to be amplifying the voices
and actions of the tens of thousands who support clean energy and
environmental justice—sending up the call for #50by30 and bold action
from America’s leaders. I hope you’ll join us.
Thank you so much,
Tom Steyer
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