Center For Earth Energy And Democracy

CEED'S MISSION IS TO ENSURE JUST AND EQUITABLE CLIMATE, ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY THROUGH EDUCATION, ADVOCACY AND RESEARCH.

1. NATIONAL PROGRAMMING SECURING ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE FOCUSED INVESTMENTS. ALONG WITH ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE GROUPS NATIONALLY AND REGIONALLY IN THE MIDWEST WE HAVE CONTINUED TO PUSH FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE INVESTMENTS IN INFRASTRUCTURE PACKAGES BEING CONSIDERED BY CONGRESS. THROUGH QUARTERLY HIGH LEVEL MEETINGS WITH CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES AND OFFICES WE HAVE ADVOCATED FOR INVESTMENTS IN AIR QUALITY MONITORING; REDUCTION AND CLEAN UP OF LEGACY POLLUTION; POLLUTION REDUCTION IN PORTS; INCREASED FOR PROGRAMS THAT REDUCE ENERGY BURDEN AND INCREASED FUNDING FOR AGENCIES TO IMPLEMENT ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE PROGRAMS. WE HAVE CULTIVATED STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH CONGRESSIONAL OFFICES THAT CHAMPION ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE PRIORITIES. LEGISLATION PROVIDING MORE THAN $162 BILLION IN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE INVESTMENTS, IS CURRENTLY INCLUDED IN THE BUILD BACK BETTER ACT. JUSTICE 40 IMPLEMENTATION. WE HAVE ENSURED THAT CEED'S GRASSROOTS PARTNERS IN THE MIDWEST ARE ABLE TO RECEIVE THE INFORMATION AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT THEY NEED IN ORDER TO APPLY FOR FEDERAL PROGRAMS COVERED UNDER PRESIDENT BIDEN'S J40 INITIATIVE. WE HAVE HOSTED BRIEFINGS ON THE INITIATIVE TO INFORM OUR PARTNERS HOW TO ENGAGE WITH THE ADMINISTRATION AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK TO THE WHITE HOUSE COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY. SEVERAL OF OUR PARTNERS HAVE BEEN ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS IN HEARINGS ORGANIZED BY THE WHITE HOUSE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 2. LOCAL AND REGIONAL PROGRAMMINGCROSS LEARNING BETWEEN MIDWEST ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE GROUPS IN THE MIDWEST. THE MIDWEST ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE NETWORK HAS BEEN AN ESSENTIAL SPACE FOR COLLABORATION BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE GROUPS IN THE MIDWEST. CEED HAS SERVED ON THE LEADERSHIP OF THE NETWORK, PROVIDING STRATEGIC DIRECTION AND OVERSIGHT OVER THE FUNCTIONS OF THE NETWORK. WE HAVE ALSO SERVED AS TECHNICAL PARTNERS TO THE NETWORK PROVIDING RESEARCH AND ANALYTICAL CAPACITY AS AND WHEN REQUESTED. WE ORGANIZED AT LEAST TWO POLICY WORKSHOPS / TRAININGS ON TOPICS RANGING FROM ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE MAPPING TO COMMUNITY ACCOUNTABILITY OF STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. COMMUNITY ENERGY PLANNING AND DECISION MAKING. WE BUILT COMMUNITY CAPACITY IN THE MINNEAPOLIS-ST PAUL METROPOLITAN AREA TO PARTICIPATE IN ENERGY DECISION MAKING PROCESSES. WE PROVIDED TRAINING ON UTILITY PLANNING PROCESSES AND DISBURSED STIPENDS TO ENSURE COMMUNITY GROUPS REPRESENTING NEIGHBORHOODS OF COLOR AND LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES WERE ABLE TO PROVIDE COMMENTS TO THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION (PUC) ON XCEL ENERGY'S 2020 INTEGRATED RESOURCE PLAN FOR THE UPPER MIDWEST REGION. WE HAVE ALSO ENGAGED WITH THE MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE ON THEIR ENERGY PROGRAM DESIGN AND OUTREACH METHODS TO TARGETED ENERGY BURDENED NEIGHBORHOODS. EXPANSION OF ENERGY EDUCATION AND OUTREACH PROGRAMS FOCUSED ON THE SOUTHEAST ASIAN IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE COMMUNITIES IN THE MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL METROPOLITAN AREA. THIS PROJECT BUILDS ON A UNIQUE CURRICULUM DEVELOPED BY CEED THROUGH YEARS OF WORKSHOPS ACROSS VARIOUS COMMUNITIES. WE FOCUSED ON ENERGY CONSERVATION AND HOME WEATHERIZATION FOR LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS IN THE SOUTHEAST ASIAN IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE COMMUNITIES IN THE MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL METROPOLITAN AREA. THE GOALS OF THIS PROJECT INCLUDED: (1) HELPING INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES REDUCE THEIR ENERGY CONSUMPTION THROUGH LOW AND NO COST ACTIONS LEARNED THROUGH INTERACTIVE AND CULTURALLY SPECIFIC WORKSHOPS; (2) INCREASING AWARENESS OF HOW TO READ HOME ELECTRIC AND HEATING BILLS; HOW TO MAINTAIN A HEALTHY ENERGY EFFICIENT HOME; REDUCE EMISSIONS AND HOME ENERGY COSTS; AND IMPROVE HOUSEHOLD ENERGY SAFETY. WE WORKED WITH A TRUSTED COMMUNITY PARTNER FROM THE SOUTHEAST ASIAN COMMUNITY TO IMPLEMENT CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE AND RELEVANT OUTREACH STRATEGIES TAILORED FOR ONE ON ONE AND MINI GROUP SESSIONS. WE SUPPORTED AND WORKED CLOSELY TO PROVIDE EDUCATION ON THE CURRENT ENERGY SYSTEMS, DISCUSSED THEIR HOME ENERGY USE AND BILLS, AND WAYS TO REDUCE HOME ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND COSTS. PARTICIPANTS WERE GIVEN FREE HOME ENERGY SAVING MATERIALS, PPE MATERIALS, AND COMPLETED THE HOME ENERGY SAVINGS COMMITMENT SURVEY. OUR FIRST LAUNCH OF THIS PROJECT IN 2021 REACHED OVER 200 SE ASIAN IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE HOUSEHOLDS.LAUNCH OF THE INAUGURAL GREEN ZONE SUMMIT. SINCE THE SUCCESSFUL INCLUSION OF THE GREEN ZONE POLICY INTO THE 2013 MINNEAPOLIS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, CEED HAS CONTINUED TO BE A POLICY ADVISOR AND THOUGHT PARTNER TO THE CITY OF MINNEAPOLIS; TO MEMBERS OF THE NORTHSIDE GREEN ZONE TASK FORCE AND SOUTHSIDE GREEN ZONE COUNCIL, AND THE GREEN ZONE DESIGN TEAM. WITH THE LISTED PARTNERS, WE HAVE LAID PLANS TO LAUNCH THE INAUGURAL 2022 GREEN ZONE SUMMIT TO RAISE AWARENESS AND BUILD POWER TOWARD HOLDING THE CITY OF MINNEAPOLIS ACCOUNTABLE TO ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ACTIONS. THE SUMMIT PROVIDED A SPACE TO ADDRESS EJ CONCERNS, OPPORTUNITIES FOR COLLABORATION, INFORMATION GATHERING, BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS, AND BRIDGING THE INSIDE-OUTSIDE STRATEGY OF AGENCY AND EXTERNAL ORGANIZATIONS. CEED HOSTED A PANEL ON THE HISTORY OF THE GREEN ZONE POLICY AND A WORKSHOP ON THE NEWLY UPDATED TWIN CITIES ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE MAPPING TOOL. 3. EQUITABLE AND JUST NATIONAL CLIMATE FORUM (EJNCF) CEED IS THE CO-FOUNDER AND ANCHOR ORGANIZATION FOR THE EJNCF, AND WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR COORDINATING THIS COLLABORATIVE EFFORT. WE PLAY THE ROLE OF A PROJECT MANAGER - HELPING STAFF THE EFFORT BY PROVIDING ADMINISTRATIVE, LOGISTICAL, COMMUNICATIONS AND FUNDRAISING SUPPORT. WE ARE PART OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE FOR THIS PROJECT, AND WE SOLELY LEAD THE COORDINATION OF THE EJ PARTICIPANTS TO THE FORUM, ORGANIZING THEIR MONTHLY EJ CAUCUS CONVENINGS, PROVIDING THEM WITH LEGISLATIVE AND POLICY UPDATES, COORDINATING HILL MEETINGS WITH THEM AND ENSURING THEIR PRIORITIES ARE REFLECTED IN THE ACTIVITIES OF THE EJNCF. OBJECTIVE 1: COALITION ENGAGEMENT AND FORUM CONVENINGDESPITE CONTINUED COVID-19 CHALLENGES LAST YEAR, THE EJNCF HAS BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL IN BRINGING ITS MEMBERS TOGETHER AS WELL AS CONVENING WITH OTHER NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL COALITIONS. CONVENING OF MEMBERS INCLUDED HOSTING REGULAR QUARTERLY MEETINGS, INFORMATION SESSIONS, AND MONTHLY EJ CAUCUS MEETINGS, AS WELL AS FORMULATING FIVE WORKING GROUPS TO FOCUS THE ENERGIES AND SPECIALIZATIONS OF MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS. TO ENGAGE WITH EXTERNAL COALITIONS, EJNCF REPRESENTATIVES ALSO MET WITH THESE COALITIONS AS PART OF A GROUP CALLED THE FIVE TABLES REPRESENTATION.OBJECTIVE 2: POLICY DEVELOPMENTTHE EJNCF'S POLICY DEVELOPMENT WORKING GROUP HAS FOCUSED ITS EFFORTS ON DEVELOPING POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS AND TOOLS ALIGNED WITH THE GOALS OF THE FULL EJNCF. AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF THIS WORK IS ENSURING THAT ALL MEMBERS HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF COMPLEX ISSUES AND CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONVERSATION, SO THE EJNCF HOSTED EXPERTS AT INFORMATIONAL SESSIONS TO INFORM MEMBERS AND SUPPORT NUANCED POLICY CONVERSATIONS. THE MOST RECENT INFORMATION SESSIONS HAVE FOCUSED ON HYDROGEN AND CCS/CCUS POLICY. MANY OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS, OR COMPONENTS OF THEM, HAVE BEEN REFLECTED IN MAJOR PIECES OF LEGISLATION, SUCH AS THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN, WHICH INCLUDES SEVERAL OF THE EQUITABLE & JUST NATIONAL CLIMATE PLATFORM (PLATFORM) INVESTMENT PRIORITIES TOTALING MORE THAN $12.7 BILLION; THE HOUSE BUILD BACK BETTER ACT, PASSED IN NOV 2021 WITH MORE THAN $163 BILLION TO BUILD HEALTHY & TOXIC-FREE COMMUNITIES, HEALTHY PORTS, POLLUTION-FREE ENERGY AND TRANSPORTATION, CLIMATE-RESILIENT AFFORDABLE HOUSING, AND MORE; AS WELL AS KEY MARKER BILLS TO ADVANCE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND ADDRESS CUMULATIVE IMPACTS, INCLUDING THE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE FOR ALL ACT, THE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ACT, AND THE JUSTICE IN POWER PLANT PERMITTING ACT. THE EJNCF'S WORK IS ALSO REFLECTED IN PRESIDENT BIDEN'S ENVIRONMENTAL AND CLIMATE JUSTICE COMMITMENTS, INCLUDING THE JUSTICE40 INVESTMENT INITIATIVE, WHICH AIMS TO DELIVER 40 PERCENT OF THE OVERALL BENEFITS OF FEDERAL CLIMATE INVESTMENTS TO DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES. THE PRESIDENT REAFFIRMED HIS JUSTICE40 COMMITMENT IN THE AMERICAN JOBS PLAN, WHICH BECAME LAW ON MARCH 11, 2021 AND INCLUDES HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF INVESTMENTS IN LEGACY POLLUTION CLEANUP, EMISSIONS MONITORING, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, ENERGY EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENTS, CLEAN WATER, POLLUTION-FREE TRANSPORTATION, AND OTHER EJ PRIORITIES.