resist

PLAN OF ACTION 2017

While 2015 and 2016 saw incredible progress in confronting the climate crisis, the election of Donald Trump changes everything. Climate change deniers, polluters, and extremists are in control of the federal government, and our environment, health, and safety are under threat like never before.

DEFEND ADVANCE BUILD

3

LCV will work with state LCV partners to expand our base of allies and activists across

the country and mount a powerful resistance to Trump’s dangerous agenda in 2017.

Our top priorities are to:

DEFEND federal protections for our air, land, water and health. In addition to climate progress, landmark

legislation like the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Antiquities Act, and the Endangered Species Act

are under fire from the most anti-environmental Congress in history. These laws protect our health, the air we

breathe, and the water we drink, and we will defend them at all costs.

ADVANCE meaningful progress at the state and local levels. To counter federal inaction on climate change,

states, cities and municipalities must lead many of the economy-wide changes needed to lower emissions

and avert long-term catastrophe. With our state LCV partners, LCV will push lawmakers and mobilize the

public to demand solutions that expand access to clean energy, reduce dangerous pollution, and clean up

our communities.

BUILD the long-term political power needed to win on climate change. Through grassroots organizing, civic

and voter engagement, accountability, and elections, we will resist Trump’s agenda, build our movement for

the long-term, and reposition the U.S. to lead in the fight against climate change.

No doubt, this work will be more challenging than ever before. We face an extreme anti-environmental

Congress and a White House that is handing over policymaking to climate deniers and fossil fuel interests.

There is no underestimating the threat at the federal level.

Still, we are ready to fight. Americans of all backgrounds are outraged and ready to resist the Trump

administration’s assaults on our basic rights, democracy, and core values. The clean energy revolution is

underway, and momentum in states, cities, and other countries cannot be stopped. Our champions in Congress

are more committed than ever to defending our air, land, water, and health. We have a powerful network of 28

state LCV partners and a grassroots infrastructure ready to harness the energy of millions of people and turn it

into action. And we have you, our committed funding partners.

In 2017, LCV will develop our next four-year strategic plan to guide our work through 2020. Now is the time to

evaluate lessons from the last four years, take stock of our assets and where we can deploy them to maximum

impact, and come up with bold and innovative ways to achieve our goals.

TO WIN, WE

NEED YOU IN

THIS FIGHT.

Key Strategies for 2017 Build a larger, more active, and more racially

diverse environmental movement

LCV will focus significant energy on building our

movement at the state and local levels and winning

victories that are sustained by a growing base of

members and leaders who reflect the changing

face of our nation. We will expand our successful

Chispa grassroots program, deepen our work with

communities of color, and grow our membership—now

over 2 million people—so that elected officials hear the

voices of all people who share our values.

Hold leaders accountable at all levels

With our state LCV partners, we will shore up public

officials who champion strong protections and ensure

that there are steep consequences for undermining

the laws that protect our climate and health. We

will also join with allies and mobilize members on

campaigns to push corporate leaders to reduce their

carbon footprints and support strong policy solutions.

Win elections

Virginia and New Jersey have governors’ races in 2017;

working with our state league partners, we must win

both in order to stop the momentum of Big Polluters.

We must also win key state legislative races in North

Carolina, Washington and elsewhere, prepare for

2018 Senate, House, and governors’ races, and launch

an aggressive four-year strategy with an eye to

congressional redistricting in 2021.

Scale up our communications capacity

While LCV’s press coverage is at an all-time high, the

cacophony of the Trump administration makes it harder

to break through on the national stage. It is important

that we significantly ramp up our communications

capacity, revamp our messaging, and leverage multiple

tactics, including more localized storytelling and rapid

response to bolster our allies and inflict the maximum

political damage to our opponents.

Expand partnerships and work more closely and

intentionally with allies

In order to win, we must work in close concert not just

with other environmental groups, but also with groups

that focus on public health, human rights, ethics, racial

justice, voting rights and women’s issues. Together, we

will harness the energy of resistance to Trump and build

a visible, local torrent of opposition to environmental

rollbacks at an unprecedented scale.

4

TO WIN, WE

NEED YOU IN

THIS FIGHT.

Big Polluter To-Do ListBig Polluters’ wish list has become the to-do list for the

Trump administration and Congress in 2017. Their list of

giveaways—and most-wanted items—includes:

Scrub White House website of mentions of

climate change

Muzzle government agencies and scientists

Name a climate-change denier to head EPA

Install CEO of ExxonMobil as Secretary of State

Put a pro-drilling climate denier in charge of

the energy department

End securities disclosure rule for oil, gas, and

mining companies

Greenlight Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines

End regulation to protect streams from coal mining

Roll back the Clean Water Rule

Roll back the Clean Power Plan

Facilitate transfer of federal public lands to states

Unravel the Paris Climate Agreement

Gut the Endangered Species Act and Antiquities Act

Gut the Clean Air Act and defund the EPA. Eliminate

their ability to regulate carbon and enforce bedrock

environmental protections.

Overturn BLM methane pollution rule

Weaken clean air protections against ozone and

smog pollution

Weaken landmark fuel efficiency standards for cars

and trucks, which will: eliminate billions in savings,

hundreds of thousands of jobs, and spew pollution

into the air.

Build the bench of environmental champions

Our current champions are more engaged than ever

and ready to defend both bedrock protections and

recent progress. Yet we must cultivate even more

champions, ensure that our allies get re-elected, in

part, because of their strong support for our issues,

and work with Republicans who are willing to buck

party leadership. We must also support efforts by

state LCV partners to recruit candidates to run and

win at the local level.

Defend democracy and voting rights

Trump’s lack of respect for and attacks on our

democracy are some of the most radical parts of

his agenda. We will continue to engage under-

represented communities in the democratic

process and address structural barriers to voting,

such as voter ID laws and voting access restrictions.

A robust, participatory democracy with open, fair,

and equitable elections is essential to a just society

and to the policy outcomes we are fighting for.

5

DEFEND FEDERAL PROTECTIONS

Our opponents have shown that they not only want to reverse recent steps to fight climate change—which is already impacting the most vulnerable communities—they would also take us back to a time when rivers caught

fire and smog choked our air. LCV will fight them every step of the way to ensure that we never go back.

“Federal policy change in the next four years

doesn’t depend on Mr. Trump but on whether

our representatives support or oppose him.

And through local pressure, we have the

power to shape what they consider possible.”

— New York Times editorial 1/2/2017

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In 2017, we will be in the fight of our lives to defend both core environmental protections and recent

progress from federal attacks. Yet while there were many factors at play in the 2016 elections, there

is no mandate for sweeping changes to undo environmental and health protections. The majority of

people in this country, including Republicans, continue to support action on climate change and want

stronger, not weaker, safeguards to ensure clean air and safe drinking water.

LCV’s overarching strategy in dealing with the Trump administration and Congress hinges on making

it clear, early and often, that attempts to roll back environmental progress will be met with vigorous,

vocal and lasting opposition. LCV is uniquely positioned to hold members of Congress accountable

for their votes and expose their actions—good and bad—to their constituents. Through lobbying,

public mobilization, and communications, we will ensure that lawmakers who seek to dismantle core

protections feel the sting of public backlash.

With decades of experience standing up for the

environment and holding our leaders accountable in

Washington, DC, LCV knows how to win on defense.

We have recovered from tough elections before—in

1980, 1994, and 2000—and we did it by mobilizing

the public and putting up roadblocks at every turn

to stop polluters from drilling in the Arctic, de-

funding the EPA, and overturning drinking water

standards. LCV will bring this experience, along with

sharper tactics for the new political reality, to our

work in 2017. Even when we lose, we will lead the

environmental community in “winning” the losses

by ensuring that our opponents spend maximum

political capital and emerge weaker from these fights

even if they succeed in short-term policy wins.

WINNING ON FEDERAL DEFENSE

Senator Collins came through for the

environment and voted against Scott

Pruitt’s nomination.

To defend federal protections, we will:• Bolster environmental champions and allies in Congress and maintain a green firewall of U.S. Senators who will

stand strong, use their bully pulpit, and fight to beat back congressional attacks that require 60 votes to pass.

• Target a handful of moderate senators and representatives to build support for blocking rollbacks and show—

through sustained organizing and advocacy efforts, media, and direct actions in their home states and districts—

that there is a political price to pay for undermining environmental and health protections.

• Work with allies to harness the energy of the anti-Trump resistance and build a visible, local torrent of opposition

to environmental rollbacks at an unprecedented scale. LCV will join allies within and beyond the environmental

movement to ensure that we are united in the most important battles ahead, including defending against attacks on

voting rights and democracy.

• Mobilize millions of activists via our grassroots and online networks to attend events, rallies, hearings, and tele-town

halls and make their voices heard by elected leaders. Campaigns will aim to stop or slow environmental rollbacks at

the federal level and preserve the political space to continue moving forward in the states.

I consider LCV a key partner in my work in

Congress to fend off attacks on our nation’s

environmental protections.

Representative Ruben Gallego (AZ-07)

LCV’s National Environmental

Scorecard is the nationally

accepted yardstick to rate

members of Congress on

environmental, public health

and energy issues and is cited

hundreds of times in the media

each year.

“ “8

REASONS FOR OPTIMISM

Part of why we believe we can hold the line on upcoming attacks is that the transition to clean energy is

already underway, with citizens across the country standing up to polluters and asserting their right to

accessible and affordable clean energy. Even with the Clean Power Plan on hold, states representing

40 percent of the U.S. population are moving ahead with clean energy plans, and more states, cities, and

utilities are taking decisive action as the cost of wind and solar continues to fall. LCV and our state LCV

partners will seize opportunities to move forward on clean energy solutions at the state level, which will

create additional momentum to help prevent federal rollbacks.

CHAMPIONS IN CONGRESS

LCV has deliberately worked to cultivate members of Congress who champion our issues

and to bolster their efforts with the public. This group of champions is the line of defense in

Congress against the Trump administration, and we have more outspoken champions than

ever in the 115th Congress, including members of the Congressional Hispanic and

Black Caucuses, who we continue to build strong ties with. In 2017, we will further amplify

their work through tele-town halls, media and online outreach, and events in their states

and districts.

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LCV has held events in partnership with many of our Congressional Champions, including

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, the first

Latina to serve in the U.S. Senate.

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“ The League of Conservation Voters were instrumental to our victory in North Carolina. The League is a trusted partner and together we’ll fight to protect clean air and drinking water for all North Carolinians and make our state a leader in clean energy.”

— North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper

ADVANCE PROGRESS IN THE STATES

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Our 2017 efforts will focus on at least 10 states where meaningful progress is possible—including

California, Colorado, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Oregon and

Washington. In another five or more states—including Arizona, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, and

North Carolina—we will lay the foundation for future progress. In states that are less ripe for progress

this year, we will focus on shaping public opinion and elevating climate as a top issue. Building on

local wins, we will leverage more ambitious state policy fights and foster a schism between the Trump

administration and other parts of the country.

The 2016 elections did not change the urgent scientific, health, and moral imperative to address climate

change. With the federal government captive to fossil fuel interests, we must immediately seize

opportunities to move forward on clean energy and climate solutions in states and cities across the country.

Many state leaders are on the front lines of these fights and already understand the stakes—from

the Florida mayors whose streets fill regularly with water, to California officials dealing with ongoing

drought. With our 28 state leagues across the country, LCV will expand the number of governors, state

legislators, mayors and other leaders willing to act on climate change and advance clean energy. Our

network’s expertise in state politics, and our years-long investment in organizing in key states will help

us identify and create policy opportunities that are significant and winnable.

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To advance progress in the states, with our state LCV partners we will: • Increase renewable energy commitments from states and cities. State clean energy standards

remain the most important catalyst for clean energy adoption. Since the 2014 elections, five states

have increased their Renewable Energy Standards to 50 percent or higher. We will support state

LCV efforts in Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, and elsewhere to join this growing list of states.

• Advance the growing movement for 100 percent clean energy. We will back campaigns to get

governors, mayors and other local leaders to commit to 100 percent clean energy, especially in

Renewable Energy Standard expansion states, with a focus on bold community solar programs that

immediately inspire.

• Expand adoption of solar energy. In places like Florida, Nevada, the Northeast and elsewhere,

state LCV partners will advance a pro-solar agenda. Building on our victories in two Florida ballot

initiatives in 2016, we will explore additional opportunities to mobilize voters to support solar in 2017.

• Defeat ALEC-led attacks on state conservation laws. Polluters will continue to attack core

environmental protections, especially in states where anti-conservation law-makers control both the

legislature and governorship. With state LCV partners, we will ramp up efforts to defeat attacks led

by groups like American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), exposing the special interests behind

these attacks and mobilizing pro-conservation Republican support where possible.

• Bolster local champions standing up for environmental protections. We will engage our members and

the media to amplify governors and attorneys general working to block the Trump administration’s

radical agenda. We will increase the prominence of champion governors and keep pressure on anti-

conservation governors, especially in states with a high number of pro-conservation voters.

LCV’s investment in state-level elections is poised to pay off in important policy progress in 2017 and beyond. In 2016, we won all three of our priority governors’ races—in North Carolina, Washington, and Montana—and helped state LCV partners win pro-clean energy majorities in Nevada, New Mexico, and Maine. In Nevada, voters flipped both houses of the legislature following attempts to eliminate net metering; the state is now aligned for increasing Renewable Energy Standards, rooftop and community solar, and energy efficiency. And in Florida, our state league decisively defeated an industry-led anti-solar ballot measure, despite being outspent by tens of millions of dollars.

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Outside of Washington, DC, consumers, utilities, voters, and local leaders are

working together to show what a clean energy future looks like. In parts of the

southwest, solar is now cheaper than coal, and because of cheap wind, a Texas

utility gives away electricity at night for free. Iowa’s largest utility recently

committed to 85 percent wind energy, and offshore wind is growing in New

York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Hawaii already gets nearly 10 percent of

its power from solar without reliability concerns, while Vermont’s Republican

governor supports the state’s 90 percent clean energy standard. City councils,

mayors, and municipalities are also forging ahead on climate resolutions and

efforts to reduce fossil-fuel emissions in local facilities and operations.

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BUILD POLITICAL POWER

In the last four years, LCV has more than doubled our membership to over 2 million people, approximately 10 percent of whom are Latino. In 2017, we will continue to intentionally grow our membership to better reflect our country, with a focus on people of color who are among the strongest supporters of environmental action.

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In 2017, Chispa will expand into a new state, develop new tools to make community organizing easier and

more accessible, and adapt our successful leadership trainings to help individuals launch mini-programs in

their own communities. These programs revolve around local air quality and climate justice issues, such as

rooftop solar, utility accountability, and pollution from diesel-powered school buses, and are coordinated

to make a collective impact.

LCV’s Chispa program uses community

organizing to invigorate the environmental

movement with new leaders, increase civic

participation, and hold public officials

accountable. In the last two years, Chispa

grassroots programs have built the power of

Latino communities to secure tangible policy

victories in six states.

In the wake of the 2016 elections that led to the massive threat we are now facing at the federal level,

it is essential that our movement significantly reposition itself to achieve long-term victories.

This will involve work on many levels, including immediate organizing of resistance and seizing elections

in 2017 and 2018 to break the momentum of the Trump agenda. We must also continue and expand our

efforts to build a more racially diverse environmental movement that reflects the voices and values of all

people in this country and advocates for solutions that address root causes of environmental inequity.

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Two competitive and high-profile 2017 governors’ elections provide a critical opportunity to slow the

momentum of the Trump agenda and elevate the importance of climate and clean energy as political

issues. With state LCV partners, we will help to define the candidates, turn out voters, and inject the

importance of the environment and energy into these critical races.

In Virginia, where Governor Terry McAuliffe is in his final year, it is essential to elect a new governor who

will act as a firewall against the state’s anti-environmental legislature. With our state league, we will

encourage a primary race in which each Democratic candidate is vying to be the stronger champion,

and work to ensure defeat of the likely pro-drilling, pro-coal Republican candidate in November.

In New Jersey, where outgoing Governor Chris Christie has taken a wrecking ball to environmental

protections, we will make clean energy a key election issue so that the next governor understands

the need and support for climate action. The NJ League of Conservation Voters has already endorsed

climate champion Phil Murphy, who has committed to moving his state to 100 percent clean energy.

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To build political power, we will: • Expand and deepen grassroots power in priority states. Since

2013, LCV’s grassroots programs have engaged more than 32,000

volunteers who have made phone calls, knocked on doors, attended

events, and advocated for climate action and clean energy at all levels

of government. In 2017, we will grow our organizing programs in

Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New

Mexico, North Carolina, Virginia, and Wisconsin and work to expand

into additional states to significantly increase the number of people

engaged in our work.

• Build a larger, more racially diverse base of volunteers. In just

two years, LCV’s Chispa program has made a huge impact using

community organizing to strengthen Latino participation and

leadership on issues of clean energy and climate justice in six states.

In 2017, we will continue to elevate Latino leadership on these issues

and engage more people of color, who are among the strongest

proponents of climate action and whose communities are often the

first and worst impacted by environmental degradation. We are also

expanding youth mobilization efforts at colleges and high schools

to train emerging leaders and energize our movement for the future.

Over 20 percent of our existing volunteers are under age 30.

• Promote voting rights and fight voter suppression. LCV is

committed to ensuring that democratic participation is a right and

possibility for all Americans, especially communities of color who are

the most frequent targets of voter suppression efforts. With state

LCV partners, we will continue our involvement in ballot initiatives

and legislation—both proactive and defensive—to increase access to

voting and ensure an equal, open and fair democratic process.

• Strengthen state LCV partners. LCV’s national network of 28 state

partners is essential to our movement’s ability to win at the local,

state, and national levels. We will continue to deliver resources,

training, and strategic and technical support to help build the long-

term power and leadership of state LCV partners on the front lines of

fights for clean air, clean water, clean energy, public lands and more.

I consider LCV a key partner in my work in

Congress to fend off attacks on our nation’s

environmental protections.

Representative Ruben Gallego (AZ-07)

“ “18

• Engage our members and collaborate with progressive allies. We will engage members on clean air, clean water,

climate justice, voting rights, corporate accountability and other priorities, with a focus on offline action as well

as online, social media, and mobile mobilization. We are meeting regularly with groups across the progressive

community to determine how to best collaborate in the coming years.

• Look to 2017-2018 elections to win victories that shift the political landscape. With our state league partners,

LCV is looking ahead to important governors’, state legislative, and congressional races in the next two years. Our

ultimate goal is to make Trump a one-term president and regain a pro-environment majority in the U.S. Senate

by 2020. In 2017, we will focus on winning key governors’ races in Virginia and New Jersey that can slow the

momentum of Big Polluters and the Trump administration, as well as key state legislative races.

• Elect more environmental leaders in state legislatures. Over several cycles, state LCV partners have helped elect

pro-climate governors and built pro-climate legislatures in places such as California, Oregon, Nevada, New Mexico

and Maine. In 2017, we will continue building towards a long-term goal of establishing a pro-environment majority in

the Virginia House of Delegates. We will also look to win a special election for a seat in the Washington state Senate,

which would bring that body closer to a pro-climate majority. Due to redistricting lawsuits, the entire North Carolina

General Assembly will be up with new district lines, providing an opportunity to elect more champions who would

work with newly-elected Governor Roy Cooper.

• Prepare to defend allies in Congress in 2018. The U.S. Senate map will be extremely challenging in 2018, and

we will need to defend many allies in states that Trump won, potentially including Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania,

Montana, Florida, and Wisconsin. We will also look for opportunities to pick up Senate seats elsewhere.

• Provide direct support to pro-environment candidates. GiveGreen and GiveGreen in the States raised or

contributed over $8.3 million in direct contributions to pro-environment candidates in 2015-2016. We will continue

to use these programs, run by LCV Action Fund and LCV Political Engagement Fund with the support of NRDC

Action Fund PAC and NextGen Climate, to help some key pro-environment candidates raise early money in 2017,

with a goal of raising a total of $8-10 million in the 2017-2018 cycle.

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By harnessing the collective power and political engagement of the environmental movement, in 2016 GiveGreen and GiveGreen in the States raised or contributed more money to pro-environment candidates than ever before: over $8.3 million.

Support state league partner-run campaign to help elect a

pro-environment governor in a close race, including through

targeted canvass, mail, phone and paid media.

Significantly ramp up our communications capacity and

revamp our messaging, to ensure we are able to inflict maximum

political damage on lawmakers who violate the public trust

on environmental safeguards.

Build long-term infrastructure to recruit and mobilize more

activists in a single key state.

Build community organizing programs that enhance the power

of low-income, communities of color to achieve climate justice,

community health, and environmental protection.

Place digital ad buys to mobilize citizens and generate media that

highlights the work of environmental champions in Congress and

increases pressure on climate change deniers.

Produce, distribute and promote LCV’s signature publication, the

National Environmental Scorecard, which grades how every member of

Congress voted on key environmental, energy and health measures.

Hold our eleventh-annual national lobby day and second youth

organizers’ academy, which bring state LCV and key supporters

to Capitol Hill to meet with members of Congress.

Produce and distribute a first-year presidential report card on

Donald Trump and the environment.

Conduct a tele-town hall with a member of Congress or other official

to educate and engage 10,000 citizens at the grassroots level.

Send email alerts to mobilize our activists on a key issue for

one month.

YOUR HELP IS NEEDED NOWHERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF WHAT LCV’S WORK COSTS:

LCV plays an essential role in the environmental movement, with unmatched political acumen and expertise. I’ve seen firsthand how effective this organization can be, from defeating constant attacks on our most bedrock environmental laws in D.C. to mobilizing millions across the country to effectively engage in the political process. LCV knows the most strategic way to move the levers of power to protect our air, land, water and health.

Carol Browner, EPA Administrator from 1993 to 2001 and LCV Board Chair

$2.5 million

$1.5 million

$1 million

$500,000

$250,000

$200,000

$110,000

$15,000

$10,000

$5,000

League of Conservation Voters

1920 L Street, NW, Suite 800

Washington, DC 20036

(202)785-8683

www.lcv.orgYour partnership in this work is essential. Please stand

with us and make a generous gift to LCV. Thank you for

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