Climate & Clean Energy

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Solar and Clean Heat for All: Our Chapter has a vision to put solar power and clean heat into homes, businesses, schools and nonprofits in Connecticut to meet our state’s climate and clean energy goals. Right now, Connecticut lags behind on solar power per capita and needs to rapidly adopt heat pumps for space and water heating. On May 8, the legislature concluded without passing the main climate bill of the session, HB 5004. Sierra Club responded to this failure here. On May 15, CT News Service published this story: Advocates: Failure of CT climate change legislation stagnates state progress. Media outlets are reporting on the possibility of a Special Session to reconsider the bill. Ask Governor Lamont to support a Special Session here.

See more on legislation below in the Legislative Committee section.

 

Pipeline opposition: Methane is dangerous for climate and health (see our new informational booklet here), and Sierra Club is working to stop new and prolonged fracked gas use. Sierra Club is helping to organize opposition to Enbridge’s Project Maple, a proposal to expand Enbridge’s pipeline in Connecticut. On May 13, opposition to Enbridge’s Coventry proposal was covered in CT Insider, and advocates held a community meeting in Coventry on May 16. Sierra Club is also working with local residents to stop the expansion of the Brookfield Compressor Station. On May 15, Brookfield Town Selectmen wrote DEEP in opposition to the proposed expansion. On May 18, the News Times published this story on the community efforts to stop the expansion of the Brookfield Compressor Station. And, Sierra Club is currently intervening in the CNG/SCG gas rate case before PURA.

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The Inflation Reduction Act: This is the largest investment in our climate and clean energy in US history. It includes more than 100 programs that will invest about $370 billion in climate action, clean energy jobs, and environmental justice. Sierra Club’s Steve Lewis is presenting to groups around the state about the benefits of efficient zero-emission technologies,  his personal experiences with energy efficiency, solar panels, heat pumps, electric vehicles, and  about the rebates and tax credits available through the Inflation Reduction Act. Interested in a presentation in your community? Contact us at connecticut.chapter@sierraclub.org.

 

Capitol Area System: Sierra Club is working with community and statewide partners to replace Hartford's Capitol Area System with a 100% renewable alternative.  Learn more and add your name urging Gov. Lamont to commit to a 100% renewable replacement for the fossil gas energy plant and buildings it serves. May 5, Peter Millman published “Opinion: Lead by Example, decarbonize the Capitol Area System” in the Hartford Courant, and on May 15, Alycia Jenkins published this op-ed on environmental justice and the Capitol Area System in CTNewsJunkie. DAS is responsible for providing a decarbonization study to Governor Lamont and the Office of Policy and Management, expected in early summer 2024.

 

Zero Waste

Sierra Club Connecticut is working with allies led by CT Coalition for Environmental Justice to oppose trash incineration and to implement Zero Waste policies. A new proposal for a recycling center and waste incinerator in North Haven has brought community members and municipal officials out to question the plan. Sierra Club CT and the Zero Waste Coalition are following developments and attending public meetings. 22% of waste going to incinerators and landfills is food waste, Senate Bill 191 -An Act Concerning Food Scrap Diversion from the Solid Waste Stream and the Redemption of Out-of-State Beverage Containers will reduce this. Take action.

 

Clean Transportation

Sierra Club is working with allies to advocate for policies that promote car-free transportation, electric vehicles, electric vehicle charging, fleet transition, and more. On April 30, Sierra Club released a new study on the impacts smog from cars and trucks.  May 2, CTNewsjunkie published an op-ed, “Health-harming transportation pollution unaddressed as clean cars and truck rules stall.” 

 

Land & Water

Remington Woods: Sierra Club Connecticut’s Save Remington Woods campaign aims to protect Remington Woods from development and to be preserved in its entirety. Remington Woods is a 422 acre forest in Bridgeport and Stratford. Follow news from the campaign  on Facebook.  Three Black Birders Week events took place in May.  The Remington Woods team is seeking members for our Conservation Committee, if you are interested in working with other Sierra Club members passionate about conserving land and open space, please contact remington.woods@sierraclub.org.

 

Toxics

PFAS: Stories about PFAs chemicals (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are appearing regularly in the news. PFAs are being found in our water, food and more. PFAs have the grave potential to detrimentally impact human health.  In an important win at the legislature, SB 292 passed. The bill bans PFAs in a wide range of products including textiles, firefighter protective gear, menstrual products, dental floss, ski wax, and carpets

 

Wildlife

The Wildlife Committee is working to protect wildlife in our state through education and policy change, including bear education, and raising awareness of the dangers of mowing hayfields on the local grassland bird population, including the Bobolink. 

 

Insure Our Future

Banks, Asset Managers, and Insurance companies are all implicated in financing the fossil fuel industry. Here in Connecticut, Sierra Club is partnering with CCAG and the Insure Our Future campaign to urge the Connecticut insurance industry to stop investing in and underwriting fossil fuels.  On May 15, CCAG organized, and Sierra Club attended, a rally outside the Travelers annual shareholder meeting covered in this article in CT Public.

 

Legislative Session

The 2024 legislative session concluded on May 8.  See our recap of the session here. Interested in getting more involved in our legislative committee?  Contact Steve Lewis, Legislative Committee Chair, for more information.