LCV, Chispa Arizona, NRDC Action Fund, NextGen America, Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, EDF Action, and Environment America held a post-election press conference on Thursday, November 5, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. EST.

https://www.lcv.org/article/video-environmental-organizations-hold-post-election-press-conference/

Environmental leaders in speaking order:

• Gene Karpinski, LCV President
• Laura Dent, Chispa AZ Executive Director
• Gina McCarthy, NRDC Action Fund President and CEO
• Tom Steyer, NextGen America Founder
• Varshini Prakash, Sunrise Movement Executive Director
• Michael Brune, Sierra Club Executive Director
• Joe Bonfiglio, EDF Action President
• Wendy Wendlandt, Acting President, Environment America

Communications contacts for the eight organizations :

LCV: Emily Samsel, emily_samsel@lcv.org
NRDC Action Fund: Denis Dison, ddison@nrdc.org
Tom Steyer: Benjamin Gerdes, benjamin.gerdes@tomsteyer.com
Sunrise Movement: Garrett Blad, garrett@sunrisemovement.org
Sierra Club: Adam Beitman, adam.beitman@sierraclub.org
EDF Action: Hannah Blatt, hblatt@edfaction.org
Environment America: Mark Morgenstein, mmorgenstein@publicinterestnetwork.org

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League of Conservation Voters
November 12, 2020
Courtnee Connon

GREEN WAVE 2020: THE COLLABORATIVE MEMBER-DRIVEN ELECTORAL EFFORT OF MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS CELEBRATES ELECTION VICTORIES

Sierra Club, EDF Action, NRDC Action Fund, NWF Action Fund, & LCV Successfully Mobilized Members in Support of Environmental Champions for Congress and the White House

Washington, D.C. — Green Wave 2020, a joint project of the League of Conservation Voters, EDF Action, the NRDC Action Fund,  the National Wildlife Federation Action Fund and the Sierra Club launched in September with the goal of mobilizing each group’s members to help turn the tide in Washington, DC by building a Green Wave. Together, the groups supported more than 40 environmental champions for election to the White House and the Congress in the 2020 election.

The Green Wave 2020 organizations prioritized federal races across 15 states. To tackle the unprecedented challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the project was staffed by over 70 professional organizers who recruited the groups’ members for remote phone- and text-banking opportunities and used other online tools to engage the groups’ members. Where the candidates’ campaigns emphasized early voting and/or mail-in voting, Green Wave 2020 organizers promoted those efforts. Here’s what the groups accomplished:

• More than 145,000 phone calls to members to help them create voting plans and recruit volunteers
• More than 1600 unique volunteers completed more than 3,200 phone banking shifts for environmental champions
• More than 25 candidates joined volunteers to launch Green Wave 2020 phone banks and events

The groups’ Green Wave efforts paid off.  Of the races that have been officially called, Green Wave is proud to have supported the election of Vice President Biden and Senator Kamala Harris, 4 winning U.S. Senate races, and 22 winning campaigns for the U.S. House.  Five House races are still too close to call.  Together our groups congratulate the winners and look forward to working together with the new Congress and new Administration to make progress on climate change, environmental justice, and other critical priorities to protect our families’ health and our planet.

“LCV and our members are proud to be a part of this amazing collaboration that once again helped elect climate and environmental justice champions up and down the ballot,” said LCV Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Tiernan Sittenfeld. “We are thrilled to continue in this fight with our partners, members, the pro-environment House majority, and the White House to achieve climate and environmental justice and work to build a cleaner and healthier future for all — we are in this together.” 

“An overwhelming majority of Americans want action on climate change — and Green Wave was able to turn out those voters in every region of the country,” said EDF Action President Joe Bonfiglio. ”These victories are the result of hard work by thousands of volunteers who want a healthier and more equitable future for their families and their communities. Green Wave also shows that old-fashioned people-to-people politics is still the most powerful tool we have.”

“Conservation and wildlife issues have the potential to bridge the partisan divide and more forward even during a time when our nation remains polarized. This election, from Michigan to Arizona, showed that voters want leaders dedicated to recovering wildlife populations, restoring our public lands, and protecting clean water and air, and acting on climate,” said Karla Raettig, executive director of the National Wildlife Federation Action Fund. “We were proud to be a part of Green Wave and to mobilize our members this election. We look forward to working with all of the newly elected and re-elected leaders on addressing the urgent challenges facing people and wildlife alike.”

“The environmental movement stands by its champions, so we were proud to help drive voters to the polls in key races across the country,” said Kevin S. Curtis, Executive Director of NRDC Action Fund. “Green Wave 2020 is yet another example of the growing political power of Americans who want to see bold action on climate change, strong protections for clean air and safe water, and an end to the environmental injustices that affect communities of color.”

“The Sierra Club is proud to have mobilized our membership as part of this unprecedented effort to elect climate champions up and down the ballot,” said Sierra Club President Ramon Cruz. “The success of these candidates is proof that the American people are looking for meaningful action to tackle the climate crisis and advance environmental justice, and we will continue to work together to translate this momentum into action.” 

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