Engaging with Congress on Climate Change Solutions

“Are we making a difference?” A tough question, even when there is not so much bad news swirling around. What separates an answer from a convincing answer comes down to this: data.

Enter our Congressional engagement dashboard, which organizes all 535-plus Congressional offices based on how often they call on EESI for nonpartisan, science-based information about climate, clean energy, and environmental topics. 

As you might already know, staff working in about 85% of Congressional offices had either attended a briefing, subscribed to a newsletter, downloaded a fact sheet, or otherwise made use of one of our resources by the end of 2024. That is the highest number we have ever achieved!  

We just updated our dashboard through April 30 for the new Congress. A snapshot of our results is featured in this report so you can see what your commitment to climate solutions is making possible.

Thanks to your partnership, we are already reaching almost half of Congressional offices in just the first four months of this year. Pretty good, given the current political environment. 

But Washington is a “what-have-you-done-for-me lately” kind of town. So there will be no resting on any laurels. We have much more to do.  

Despite all the chaos and uncertainty facing climate policy, our dashboard shows that, yes, we are reaching Congress. Together we are making a difference.

Thanks for continuing to prioritize this work in your philanthropy.

Links:

• Join me to discuss federal climate policy on Friday, June 13!
• Check out climate solutions in YOUR state!
• Read the full May edition of EESI Impact!

The last few months have been pretty unsettling.

How are you holding up? Drop me a line if you’d like (hello@eesi.org). I’m always eager to hear from you and learn about your ideas and priorities.

This is arriving in your inbox just after Earth Day. Last year, thinking about climate action, I posed the question, “Are we on the right track?” And my answer was, “Well, yes and no.” Emissions were decreasing, but we were not where we needed to be to meet our end-of-decade goals.

That feels like 1,000 years ago.

Things have changed. There is major uncertainty about everything in climate policy. But, thanks to your continued partnership, EESI is finding ways to make a positive impact.

Let me point to one especially impressive—maybe even surprising?—stat line: EESI has had nearly 100 meetings with Congressional offices, including seven newly-elected representatives, since mid-January.

These meetings are chances to build and strengthen relationships on Capitol Hill on both sides of the aisle. This engagement helps ensure that representatives and senators have access to timely, relevant information about clean energy jobs, public health, community resilience, and other topics they need to know about. And it is the best way to get feedback about information gaps that we can help address with our nonpartisan, science-based resources.

There is still good stuff happening (you can find out much more in the April edition of EESI Impact, our newsletter, which you can receive in the future if you sign up here). I hope you take away how much impact you are making possible even now.

Optimism seems harder to muster lately. But your commitment to advancing climate solutions is a big part of driving this positive impact.

Thanks.

Links:

• Read the entire April edition of EESI Impact!
• Subscribe to newsletters, fact sheets, briefing notices, & more!
• Check out climate solutions in YOUR state!