Climate
Climate
If we act now, we can build a better world for future generations. The next decade is critical to scaling up clean-energy solutions to fight climate change.
Our Vision
A safe future, a stable climate
We envision a world where everyone has access to affordable and reliable renewable energy, clean air and water, and a stable future we can count on. Our movement has made incredible progress towards investing in clean energy, creating hundreds of thousands of good jobs, and blocking dirty oil and gas projects from polluting our environment.
Clean energy is already powering more and more of our economy, and investment in renewables is driving a new era of innovation and growth. The rapid improvements in clean-energy technology means that in most cases, the price of renewables is far cheaper than polluting oil, gas, or coal.
We have the opportunity – and obligation – to speed up this transition to protect our planet and our communities, while making our energy and economic systems work better for everyday people. If all of us join together and push our policymakers to take bold action, we can fight climate change, address racial inequalities, and create millions of green jobs in the process.
More than 8.7 million people die every year due to respiratory diseases, strokes, and heart attacks caused by outdoor air pollution. Replacing fossil fuel power plants with renewable energy, such as wind or solar farms, will greatly benefit human health.
The Threat
Melting glaciers add to rising sea levels, which increases coastal erosion and elevates storm surge as warming air and ocean temperatures create more frequent and intense coastal storms like hurricanes and typhoons.
Climate Change is at a Critical Stage
The impacts of climate change are here, and they will only grow more frequent and more severe – from extreme weather and unnatural disasters like fires, floods, heatwaves, and hurricanes, to rising sea levels and global food or water shortages, to ecosystem collapse and biodiversity loss – if we don’t act. We only have a few short years to implement the transformational changes needed to reduce greenhouse emissions and maintain a livable climate.
Despite the urgency to transition to clean energy, fossil fuel corporations continue to drill new oil and gas wells and build new pipelines that tear through communities, polluting our ecosystems and disregarding Indigenous treaty rights. Every time one of these projects gets built, we lock in years more of greenhouse gas emissions that we simply cannot afford. While our future is put more and more at risk, oil and gas CEOs rake in the profits.
Unless we retire all coal plants by 2030, abandon all plans to build gas plants, and aggressively build out renewable energy resources, we risk destabilizing our livable climate.
We are in a "code red for humanity.” But it’s not too late.
1.2T
5M
deaths per year from extreme weather
Threats from Extreme Weather
Coastal communities and island nations are already being submerged by storms and rising seas, while fire season grows longer and spreads farther every year. Each summer is hotter than the last, making some regions of the world nearly intolerable to humans. Already, insurance companies are denying tens of thousands of Americans coverage due to fire and flooding risk. Farmers can’t grow the crops they used to rely on. Animals and plants are going extinct, unable to survive in such a rapidly-changing climate. If global temperatures keep rising, more human and natural systems will reach the limits of their ability to adapt.
Victory!
Protecting a Way of Life and the Planet
The Biden-Harris administration protected an entire way of life and made critical progress towards slowing global warming when it moved to shut down drilling in the Arctic.
What We Are Doing
Rally at the Idaho State Capitol to celebrate historic funding for Idaho clean energy initiatives.
Protecting our climate requires bold and immediate action – from each of us, our communities, the private sector, and all levels of government. That’s why Sierra Club is coming at this challenge from every angle, working in every state around the country, and building a movement that is putting us on the path towards a clean energy future.
From shutting down polluting pipelines to building out clean energy, electrifying our buildings and cars to expanding public transportation, we’re pushing for aggressive action to protect our communities from climate change. We’re leading the way in urging Congress to pass industrial policy that would create the goods and materials we need in a more sustainable way. Tens of thousands of members and supporters like you submitted public comments urging the Biden-Harris administration to create new regulations that will reduce pollution, leading to critical protections that will slow the rate of climate change and improve public health. Our Beyond Coal Campaign recently secured a grassroots-powered victory to retire the last remaining coal plant in all of New England. And our Fossil Free Finance campaign is putting pressure on big banks and asset managers to fund clean energy instead of coal, oil, and gas.
We’re up against a lot, but the tide is turning. We have a powerful grassroots movement on our side, and the vast majority of Americans are in support of bold action.
You Can Help Sierra Club Fight Climate Change
Your donation will fund our work to stop the expansion of fossil fuel companies and help us achieve clean energy for all.
