Climate Action’s Path Forward
The results are sobering. After an election shadowed by unprecedented fossil fuel spending, we face a stark reality: Donald Trump will return to the White House. With Trump's victory and explicit promises to the fossil fuel industry, we face a challenging road ahead. But this moment calls for strategic clarity, not despair.
Here's what we know: The fossil fuel industry just spent $147 million trying to buy themselves four years of immunity from climate accountability. They're expecting a blank check from the White House. But they're about to learn that money can't buy everything – not our state courts, not our statehouses, and not our local communities.
The Next 60 Days Matter More Than Ever
Before Trump takes office, we have a critical window that will shape the next four years. President Biden's pending decisions on LNG export terminals stand as the most consequential climate actions he can take. Five major permits hang in the balance, including the massive CP2 project that would generate annual emissions exceeding those of the entire European Union.
The Department of Energy's analysis of these projects isn't just bureaucratic paperwork – it's foundational documentation that will strengthen challenges for years to come. A strong determination that these exports harm the national interest will reverberate through courts and communities long after Biden leaves office.
Where Power Really Lives
Here's what the fossil fuel industry doesn't want you to remember: The White House isn't everything. While Trump can weaken federal protections, he can't stop:
32 climate lawsuits are moving through state courts
Attorneys general are investigating decades of industry deception
Communities are advancing climate superfund legislation
States are protecting and expanding their climate policies
Local governments are fighting for climate justice
The rapid buildout of clean energy across the country and around the world
The recent devastation from Hurricanes Helene and Milton makes our mission even clearer. As communities face billions in recovery costs while fossil companies report record profits, the case for accountability only grows stronger.
The New Frontlines of Climate Progress
Trump's victory hasn't derailed climate action – it's decentralized it. The next chapter will be written in state houses and state courts, not federal agencies. Massachusetts' groundbreaking case against Exxon shows how state attorneys general can effectively investigate and prosecute fossil fuel companies for climate-related deception and damages.
Look at what's already happening:
Climate superfund bills are emerging across the country
First major climate trials are expected in 2025
States with strong climate laws (CA, NY, MA) are already mobilizing defense strategies
Voters across party lines support polluter accountability
What Happens Next
The next few months will be crucial. We're focusing on:
1. Immediate Action: Pushing Biden to complete the DOE analysis and reject pending LNG permits that would lock in decades of emissions.
2. State Leadership: Expanding the network of elected officials pursuing climate accountability and advancing climate superfund legislation.
3. Local Power: Supporting communities fighting fossil fuel infrastructure and demanding corporate accountability.
4. Legal Momentum: Building coordinated multi-state strategies that can withstand federal hostility.
Hope Isn't Optional
Yes, having a climate denier in the White House will hurt. But remember – the fossil fuel industry wouldn't have spent record sums trying to buy this election if they weren't scared. They see the same thing we do: a rising tide of accountability they can't stop.
They may have bought the White House, but they haven't bought our people or our justice system. The path forward is clear: if we can't make progress in Washington, we'll make it in our states, our cities, and our state courts.
The fossil fuel industry chose to align themselves with Trump's assault on both our climate and our democracy. Now they'll face the consequences in every courthouse and statehouse across America. We're building a movement that will outlast any presidency – a coordinated campaign to ensure the companies that caused this crisis help pay to fix it.
This isn't the path we wanted. But it might be the one that finally brings the fossil fuel industry to justice.
“Hope is not a lottery ticket you can sit on the sofa and clutch, feeling lucky. It is an axe you break down doors with in an emergency. Hope should shove you out the door, because it will take everything you have to steer the future away from endless war, from the annihilation of the earth's treasures and the grinding down of the poor and marginal... To hope is to give yourself to the future - and that commitment to the future is what makes the present inhabitable.”
― Rebecca Solnit, Hope in the Dark: The Untold History of People Power