Photos courtesy of Images by Ning
In a recent postcard (advocacy) campaign, we urged Governor Jared Polis to not veto SB21-200, a bill that would put enforceable carbon emissions caps on multiple business sectors in Colorado. In mid-May, he finally came to the table to negotiate with legislators (after resisting for weeks). After a long (and painful) process, a compromise was finally reached in early June. Colorado's legislative session was extended for over a week and it just came to an end in the evening of 6/8 after the compromise bill (HB21-1266) passed. This article documents its final, and almost theatrical passage, as climate deniers were up in arms with the amendments added to HB21-1266 in the State House. The Governor is expected to sign the bill.
We got more than 70% of what we wanted in the compromise bill, and put enforceable caps on industrial, oil and gas, and electricity sectors. In addition, the bill makes real progress on the environmental justice front by giving voice to disproportionately impacted communities and addressing pollution issues affecting them. We are hoping to make up the remaining 30% by engaging in the upcoming rule-making processes, and advocating for additional bills in future legislative sessions. Potential ballot measures are also being considered.
Finally, during the process, we were able to expand Colorado's environmental and justice coalition to include more diverse communities. The large coalition put a lot of pressure on the Governor by organizing events, writing OpEds, buying ads, launching social media campaigns, etc. Blue Wave sold 32,000 2-part postcards and thousands more were distributed at events across the state. These postcards generated phone calls to the Governor’s office from environmental activists. Thousands of postcards with personal messages landed in the Governor’s mailbox, urging him to take bold actions on climate. In the end, our coalition grew stronger and we're ready to take on more climate battles down the road.
THANK YOU ALL for your hard work. You have made a difference!
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-Ning Mosberger-Tang, Founder and President [bio]