CCAN Winter Newsletter 2024-2025

Letter from the Director
We are NOT going back
Keep this in mind the next time Donald Trump’s return to the White House paralyzes you with despair: The climate movement in the Chesapeake region actually grew under Trump’s first term. We banned fracking in Maryland in 2017. We stopped the Atlantic Coast Pipeline in Virginia in 2020. We adopted clean energy policies across the region. We went forward, not backward – and we inspired the rest of the country. Now we’ll do it again.
Yes, Trump will try to do horrible things at the national and international levels over the next four years. His backtracking on climate policy could slow – but not stop – the world’s inevitable transition to clean energy.
But just like the first Trump term, we are confident leaders in this region will step up to embrace more progressive policies at the municipal, county and state levels. Together, we will do more to protect the environment, safeguard women’s reproductive rights, and advance economic justice.
On climate change, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) and our allies will be educating policymakers on a full range of clean-energy issues in January in Richmond and Annapolis. We will be swarming regulators’ offices in D.C., too, to fight polluters like Washington Gas. And we’ll keep pushing on Capitol Hill to hold our legislators accountable.
Personally, I’ve never been more grateful that I have the opportunity to help pass state-level legislation in our region, and across the country. And I am grateful to know there are millions of people like me and you across the country, who care about climate justice and are not going back.
So as we face a shifting political landscape at the federal level, our state and local work is more important than ever. As the new year approaches, please consider donating to our work online at this link or by sending a check to P.O. Box 11138, Takoma Park, MD 20913.
I want to express my gratitude for your unwavering dedication to climate action and support of CCAN, and to reassure you that all hope is not lost if we move forward together.
On we go,
Mike Tidwell
Executive Director
Chesapeake Climate Action Network & CCAN Action Fund
Explore CCAN Updates
Federal
Introducing Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act

In September, CCAN Action Fund worked with U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) to introduce the Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act. This landmark legislation would be the first-ever federal attempt to calculate the climate impacts of the world’s largest carbon polluters and apply a one-time fee to those companies to help clean up the damage they’ve caused. CCAN Action Fund will work with Sierra Club, Sunrise Movement, and Fossil Free Media to continue to educate movement leaders and members of Congress on the Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act. Donate to support this and our other national campaigns >>
Updating Our National Electric Grid
One of the biggest challenges confronting the clean energy revolution is connecting distributed renewable energy sources to an aging electric grid. CCAN has been educating decision makers and the public on what we consider necessary features of any transmission and interconnection reform. Changes include, but are not limited to, creating a comprehensive cost allocation method, improved interregional transmission planning, and deployment of grid enhancing assets like reconductoring. We will continue to push for transmission and interconnection reforms that are not tied to 50 more years of fossil fuel infrastructure. Read more about our efforts to turbocharge clean energy through transmission >>
Washington, DC

Project Pipes is Back… And So Are We!
In June, the D.C. Public Service Commission (PSC) voted unanimously to reject funding for Phase 3 of Washington Gas’s $12 billion “Project Pipes.” But, in September, Washington Gas came back with a so-called “fresh new” plan, which they are calling District SAFE. Some people almost didn’t recognize it for exactly what it is: Washington Gas trying their best to rebrand their controversial Project Pipes. You read that right: same plan, different name. But we aren’t falling for this misleading rebrand, and neither should the PSC. This is the same Project Pipes plan as before and it will sink $215 million more into accelerated methane gas pipe replacement – whether the pipes need to be replaced or not.
Now is the time we should be investing in a clean energy future, not more dangerous and dirty fossil fuels. CCAN Action Fund will continue our fight to stop Project Pipes for good. So far, over 1,000 D.C. residents have signed on to our Stop Project Pipes petition and nearly 300 people have already submitted comments against this new plan! You can read more about Project Pipes and its misleading rebrand as District SAFE here >>
Maryland
State Agencies Take the Lead on Climate
This fall, Maryland made progress on climate as state agencies took important steps toward climate goals. We saw the Maryland Department of the Environment propose its Building Energy Performance Standard regulations, the Maryland Public Service Commission host an initial conversation about the future of methane gas in the state, and all of Maryland’s agencies work to create their individual Climate Implementation Plans in support of Governor Wes Moore’s whole-of-government approach to reducing climate pollution. Our team has been actively participating in these processes, helping to maximize wins and push the agencies to think more critically and creatively as they pursue greenhouse gas reduction mandates. Donate to support these efforts >>
We're Making Polluters Pay
CCAN Action Fund is working alongside other states to “Make Polluters Pay.” How? By holding the largest, most-polluting fossil fuel companies financially liable for their contribution to the climate crisis, and charging them a one-time fee proportional to their historical greenhouse gas emissions. We are working to form the largest coalition possible to make Polluters Pay a reality, and have been building grassroots power to pass the Responding to Emergency Needs from Extreme Weather (RENEW) Act.
Leading up to the legislative session, CCAN Action Fund will be working to educate the public and decision makers through educational webinars and high-traffic canvassing. Sign up with CCAN Action Fund as a lobby captain this legislative session at this link >>
Virginia

RGGI Victory in Virginia!
In November, the Floyd County Circuit Court ruled that Governor Glenn Youngkin’s efforts to remove Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) was unlawful. This is a HUGE victory and we couldn’t have done it without YOU and every other CCAN supporter and ally who’s fought for years to stay in RGGI, Virginia’s flagship carbon reduction program.
RGGI is a multi-state cap-and-invest program that gradually limits carbon emissions from power plants while charging for pollution. In Virginia, it has raised hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for flood resilience and low-income energy efficiency programs, including weatherization and efficient affordable housing construction.
Here at CCAN, we’ve been fighting to join RGGI for 10 years. We recruited Delegate Ron Villanueva (R-Virginia Beach) to introduce a bill to join this climate program way back in 2014. We knocked doors, made calls, rallied, and lobbied for six years — and it worked! In 2020, RGGI passed into law as part of the Clean Energy and Community Flood Preparedness Act. When Youngkin took office, he promised to do everything he could to remove Virginia from RGGI, so we had to do the work all over again.
Now, the court’s decision upholds the argument that environmental advocacy groups, activists, and lawmakers have been making for years: only the Virginia General Assembly has the authority to repeal the RGGI regulations. NOT Youngkin. Donate to support our work protecting Virginia’s hard-fought climate victories >>
One Step Forward, One Step Back: Fight Against Chesterfield Gas Plant Continues
Over the summer, we celebrated some exciting news: after a year of relentless advocacy, Dominion Energy officially abandoned its plan to build a massive gas plant at a new site in Chesterfield County. But the fight is not over. Dominion is now plotting to bypass the permitting process by building at an existing site, meaning that it may not need new zoning permissions.
The Chesterfield County Board has the power to declare this site not suitable for fossil fuel burning. So far, though, they’ve refused to exercise this power or even hold a public hearing. We can’t wait for them. That’s why we helped put together a People’s Hearing, a forum where community members had the opportunity to put their voices on the record for submission to the Department of Environmental Quality, the state permitting authority. Around 150 community members showed up to say NO Chesterfield gas plant – our largest gathering yet in opposition to the project. Sign the petition to oppose this project today >>
Welcoming 2,000 New Best Friends!
Over the last two years, our Virginia team has been developing a year-round approach to building our climate movement, including a summer jam-packed with outreach to new activists at beach clean-ups, farmers markets, community events, and more. This summer, we welcomed almost 2,000(!) new CCAN members in Virginia through these efforts in support of expanding both rooftop and large-scale solar, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and public transit. Our new members will now get the training and skills they need to make an impact on local and state-wide campaigns for climate justice. Sign up to be an action member today >>
Celebrating Virginia’s Climate Leaders
Last August, CCAN Action Fund hosted a Climate All-Star Awards ceremony to recognize our five strongest climate advocates in the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate. These lawmakers pushed for policies to expand shared (or “community”) solar, create a state green bank, ban solar bans, and implement stronger energy efficiency targets, among many other pro-climate policies.
Here’s what Delegate Cia Price (D-85th District), one of our award winners, had to say: “For any organizer or advocate that thinks that their work doesn’t matter, I am living proof that it does. Not everybody’s family has 10 people that have asthma that live within one mile of coal piles and not everybody has to rinse off their outdoor furniture before they use it or play with things outside. As I learned more, I have been able to be loud and proud standing beside you and working on these issues, addressing the actual impact that environmental injustice does specifically to communities like mine and to my very own family.”

ACTION MEMBERSHIP
Launched: CCAN DC Volunteer Action Team!
Throughout the summer and fall, our D.C. team and volunteers were out and about at community events, festivals, and farmers markets. In the process, we signed up over 950 new members! In September, the group held its first team meeting and seven highly-engaged leaders began to formulate what a volunteer-led advocacy team would look like in the District. The team continued to meet throughout the fall to discuss its structure and strategy for local climate justice advocacy.
Now we’re ready to grow even bigger! Moving forward, the D.C. Action Team will onboard more new volunteers and conduct outreach to connect with and empower people all over the District. If you are interested in joining, please email ayla@chesapeakeclimate.org.
Diana Dascalu-Joffe Legal Fellowship
A Lasting Legacy
In 2025, we’ll be facing a slew of new fossil fuel projects, challenges to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and the expansion of fossil fuel development under the next administration. And one of our greatest tools moving forward will be the courts.
Our Diana Dascalu-Joffe legal fellowship program will be key to this work in 2025. Diana Dascalu-Joffe worked for CCAN from 2005 to 2015 as our extraordinary staff attorney and grants manager. Helping to shepherd CCAN from a tiny staff of three to the dynamic regional climate group we are today. The Fellowship honors her memory by providing law students in the Washington D.C. region an opportunity to gain legal experience and to follow in Diana’s footsteps as fierce defenders of the environment. Support the Diana Dascalu-Joffe legal fellowship program today with a donation.
New Program Announcement
Remove Invasive Vines: SAVE THE TREES!
This year, CCAN was awarded federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding through Casey Trees to continue our invasive vine program, which started in Takoma Park in 2021. This new funding supports a full-time program manager, Meredith, who is leading the charge to expand invasive vine removal efforts across our region. Our goal is to save 3,000 trees on private property and 800 trees on public lands from the threat of invasive vines by 2027. The volunteer-driven program will primarily target trees on private property in communities in Prince George’s County, Maryland, and wards 5, 7, and 8 in Washington D.C.
In October, the program took off with events at Sligo Creek and Colmar Manor Community Park. In these first few months, we have engaged over 50 volunteers and saved over 100 trees from the threat of invasive vines! The work has been met with great enthusiasm from volunteers and other community organizations, many of whom have expressed the need for education and action around removing invasive vines on private property, not just in public parks. We’re excited to see this program move forward in the year ahead. Sign up to volunteer with the invasive vines team >>
Freezin’ for a Reason - CCAN’s 20th Annual “Keep Winter Cold” Polar Bear Plunge
Join us on Saturday, February 8, 2025 at National Harbor near D.C. – or BRRR-tually from anywhere in the world – for CCAN’s annual Polar Bear Plunge to “Keep Winter Cold.”
Sign up today: www.keepwintercold.org
In this new climate era, we need to build a people-powered climate movement. Your tax-deductible donation to the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) promotes policies that keep fossil fuels in the ground and that advance clean energy in Maryland, Virginia, DC, and nationwide. Give today! DONATE TODAY!