Please take a few minutes today to take action on a time-critical issue.
Billions of new federal and state dollars are available for clean energy in Washington State. We need to make sure funds are distributed equitably. Clean Energy Ambassadors will bring much-needed clean energy funding and programs to low-wealth, BIPOC, and rural communities that have not yet received their fair share.
Unfortunately, the Senate and House both proposed major cuts to the Ambassadors program – slashing funding from $10M to $3M and cutting a year-long program down to just six months, beginning next January instead of this summer.
We need your help! Please contact your elected leaders and let them know that communities can’t wait for clean energy! Frontline communities have been left out of the energy transition for too long.
Here is a script you can use:
Dear Senator/Representative ______(find your elected officials here),
My name is ______ and I’m a constituent from _______.
Clean Energy Ambassadors matter to my community because _______ (pick one or two or write your own):
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We want to see all Washingtonians benefit from the clean energy transition – not just communities with high wealth.
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Our community has not received our fair share of clean energy funding to date.
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We need new infrastructure to keep us safe and healthy through extreme weather.
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We want green jobs that support our families with safe conditions and living wages.
The proposed changes to the Clean Energy Ambassadors program in the substitute operating budget bill will cut funding dramatically and shorten the program’s timeline from a year to just six months.
Shortening the timeline for the Clean Energy Ambassadors program will make it impossible to effectively recruit, train, and deploy ambassadors to serve my community – and cutting the funding will make it less likely that my community receives any benefits whatsoever.
Please work with your colleagues to restore full funding and for Clean Energy Ambassadors in the operating budget and to ensure the program begins at the start of Fiscal Year 2025 – not January. Our climate and our community can’t wait!
Deadline: ASAP – Executive Session is 4pm Tuesday, February 21.
