Bold Solutions for Our Planet, Communities, Economy, and Democracy
Our Vision
We have no time to waste. This is our moment. As we enter a new decade, the Sierra Club will answer the call for action by aggressively pursuing bold policy solutions that move our nation, our economy, and our planet as quickly as possible to a just, equitable, and sustainable future. We will do so while helping develop and build a powerful, resilient grassroots movement rooted in racial, economic, and gender justice that will be a force to push for these policies, these goals, and our shared values across the nation.
Our Call to Action
The stakes have never been higher and the facts have never been clearer during the 125+ year history of the Sierra Club. Right now, we are faced with the moral obligation to act at unmatched speed on an unprecedented scale to confront the crises facing our country and our planet. At the same time, we have an extraordinary opportunity to respond to these crises in a way that builds a better, more equitable world in which every person can thrive. The next decade will be pivotal in determining our success.
The status quo means disaster in which the climate crisis, pollution, and unjust governing institutions and economic structures fuel racial, economic, and gender inequity, exposing frontline communities and Indigenous peoples to the worst consequences of inaction and injustice, leaving millions behind, and threatening the survival of every community and more than 1 million species. Winning requires that we recognize the intrinsic connections between our economy, our democracy, our planet, and its people -- and it demands that we fight for solutions that counteract inequity and injustice while tackling the climate crisis and protecting wild lands and wildlife. We will only be successful by building a movement that works together, refusing to repeat the mistakes of the past. That means fighting for the people, wildlife, and places we love by developing and implementing bold and visionary policies that reinvent how we power the country, integrate and interact with ecosystems, and structure our economy and our democracy. Only then can we achieve a future where ecosystems thrive and all people can breathe fresh air; drink clean water; have access to family-sustaining jobs, clean affordable energy and transportation, healthy food, and the outdoors; and fully participate in our democracy.
Our Policy Goals
- Secure an Equitable Transition to 100% Clean Energy with Clean Air and Water for All
- 100% Clean Energy for All: Clean the grid, slash pollution, and transition beyond coal, gas, nuclear, and oil to 100% renewable energy for all, with priority access for frontline communities
- 100% Clean Transportation for All: Ensure clean and accessible transportation choices for all, with priority access for frontline communities, by transitioning to widespread and affordable public transit, bikeable and walkable communities, and electric cars, trucks, and buses
- 100% Clean Buildings for All: Slash pollution and energy bills for all, with priority access for frontline communities, by transforming all of our buildings to highly efficient, 100% clean electric power
- Protect public health by addressing cumulative environmental impacts that burden frontline communities with disproportionate air, water, and land pollution and climate risks
- End the build-out of fossil fuel infrastructure and ban fossil fuel extraction on public lands
- Re-establish U.S. global leadership on climate by re-committing to the Paris Agreement
- Build a Clean and Safe Economy that Works for Everyone
- Address the twin crises of climate change and inequity through policies like those captured in the Green New Deal vision
- Rebuild crumbling infrastructure with a focus on climate resilience, clean energy and transportation, and clean air and water to create millions of family-sustaining jobs
- Invest in and adopt climate-smart adaptation solutions that are just, equitable and protect the human and natural environment with a focus on those most vulnerable to harm
- Expand clean manufacturing, pollution control, recycling, and other solutions to produce the goods needed for a clean energy economy while slashing industrial pollution
- Reduce waste, petrochemicals, and other toxic pollution that threatens our health and ecosystems
- Support low-income communities, communities of color, and frontline communities by ensuring early access to decision-making processes and prioritized access to jobs and economic and environmental benefits in the transition to a clean energy economy
- Support guaranteed access to family-sustaining jobs, wage support, pensions, healthcare, and community investment for workers and communities impacted by the transition to a clean energy economy
- Transform trade policies to support binding protections for workers, clean air and water, and a transition to clean energy
- Protect Our Lands and Waters, and Connect All Of Our Communities To Nature
- Ensure our ecosystems and wildlife are protected and resilient in the face of the climate crisis by partnering with Native and frontline communities to protect 30% of wild spaces by 2030 and 50% by 2050
- Protect healthy forests, soils, and the integrity of our waters and wetlands to provide critical habitat, recreation, and economic growth while supporting intact and healthy ecosystems for the people and wildlife that depend on them
- Leverage lands and waters to be part of the climate solution rather than the problem by managing public forests, wetlands, and soils to sequester maximum carbon, by keeping all fossil fuels in the ground on public lands and waters, and by equipping farmers, ranchers and other landowners to employ natural solutions to protect and restore forests, farmlands, and rangelands to rebuild healthy soil and sequester carbon
- Expand inclusive involvement and access to outdoors opportunities through investments in public transportation to parks and programs that support equity in outdoor engagement
- Create a Democracy Of, For, and By the People -- All People
- Defend and expand access to voting with reforms that increase voting access and restore voting rights while ensuring secure and fair elections
- Ensure fair and independent courts and federal judicial nominees
- Get corporate polluter money and influence out of politics by pushing small donor public financing
- Achieve fair and independent redistricting to ensure everyone is counted and every vote counts
- Support the growing power of underrepresented and oppressed communities in their struggles for equity and justice