It is undeniable that climate change is affecting communities everywhere, and the crisis calls for swift collective action. Each Giving Tuesday we show support for organizations around the world working hard to make a difference in their communities. Many of these nonprofits rely on contributions from generous individuals, and Climate XChange is no different. This Giving Tuesday, help us prevent the worst impacts of climate change by supporting our largest fundraiser of the year. 

States have long been leaders in climate action, and thanks to recent federal investments, they are better positioned than ever to make a difference. Last summer, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the largest federal climate investment in our nation’s history. This law unlocks roughly $370 billion on a wide range of clean energy measures, with much of it set aside for states to implement their own climate programs. With this critical funding, local governments have an opportunity to implement programs that result in lasting change for their communities.  However, states need guidance navigating federal incentives while designing policies and programs that achieve an equitable transition towards a zero emissions economy.

Climate XChange is dedicated to helping climate actors do just that. We work tirelessly to equip state actors with expertise, resources, and connections to help make climate policies a reality. The future of climate policy in the U.S. is promising, but there’s still much more work to do. As we look ahead at what’s next for our work, we can’t help but reflect on what we’ve accomplished in the past year.

Last November, we introduced our State Climate Policy Dashboard, a free online database that tracks 65+ climate policies across all 50 states. Our Dashboard is the only publicly accessible tool that follows state policy across all sectors and at this level of detail. So far, the Dashboard has reached over 40,000 members of the climate movement, and it’s supported by partners from more than a dozen organizations and over 100 individual reviewers.

Next year, we’re transitioning to a new, more interactive platform that will allow us to track policy in greater detail and further highlight avenues for future action. We’re striving to continually improve the Dashboard in order to make it one of the most useful tools in the nation for advancing state climate policy. 

This year we also introduced the Dashboard Digest, a series of articles that dives deeper into each policy that we track. The series gives state actors opportunities to learn key information about each policy, while also increasing their understanding of how policies fit together to achieve emissions reductions and providing useful examples across states.

In 2023, we’re excited to expand our impact by building out our direct policy assistance program. Anyone who works on climate policy knows that it’s an uphill battle, and nothing is guaranteed — even in the most climate friendly states. We’ve been working with actors across the country by supporting efforts to pass effective and equitable climate mitigation policies. Next year, we plan to refine our policy assistance program by identifying key opportunities with on-the-ground partners. 

In 2022, we also deepened the offerings of our State Climate Policy Network. We focused on facilitating interstate collaboration and providing state actors with access to capacity-building resources. This year, we hosted twelve calls connecting advocates and legislators and seven webinars that dove into policy issues, reaching a total of 6,864 climate actors. Next year, we’re working with partner organizations to further meet the needs of our Network members.

We’re looking ahead in Maryland to continue our on-the-ground campaign to fund climate action and advance environmental justice in the state. Last session, we harnessed the strength of the Rebuild Maryland Coalition — a diverse group of 70 member organizations — to rally around the Climate Crisis and Environmental Justice Act. This January, we’ll continue to grow our coalition while engaging with lawmakers in the Maryland General Assembly and the newly elected governor so we can pass the bill into law.

None of this work is possible without your generous support. If you believe in our work, please consider participating in our 7th Annual Electric Vehicle Raffle. Each year, we’ve worked with our winners to build a fully customized Tesla, and this year we’re excited to announce that we’ve added the brand new Rivian R1S SUV and R1T Truck to the list of prizes. By purchasing a ticket, you’re not only directly supporting the critical work we do, but you also get the chance to win one of the most advanced electric vehicles on the market, plus we pay all the taxes so you don’t have to!