“I can’t think of a more knowledgeable or committed climate champion in political life in America today.”
CALIFORNIA – In case you missed it, Bill McKibben, founder of Third Act and 350.org, and one of the most respected voices in the climate movement, shared his support of Tom Steyer for Governor in a recent Substack piece praising Steyer’s staunch dedication to clean energy and environmental advocacy. McKibben highlighted Steyer’s unwavering commitment to the clean energy transition, consistent backing of progressive legislation, and dedication to “widespread prosperity” for all Californians. The following are excerpts from the story.
Clean energy needs actual champions
By Bill McKibben
What I’ve learned by long observation of the politics around energy and climate: to make real change, it helps immensely to have champions. We can count on most Democrats, by this point, to say more or less the right things, but it remains fairly rare to have champions who understand the issues intimately and will use political capital to do something about them.
That’s why I’ve been grateful to watch Tom Steyer’s run for governor of California.
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Maybe 15 years ago he called me out of the blue to pick my brains about climate stuff;
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Over time we became real friends.
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We've carried on a nonstop conversation about climate change, which he rightly understood as the most important question the planet faces.
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He’s the real deal: he stepped away from his hedge fund because his colleagues wouldn’t divest it from fossil fuel, and he’s been working hard ever since to make progress on the energy transition. I can’t think of a more knowledgeable or committed climate champion in political life in America today.
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Steyer has supported one bill after another that would raise his taxes, and he’s fanned out across the state year after year to help with important referendum fights—which is why, among other things, he’s found widespread endorsements from labor unions. He’s been condemned for having made money in the past off fossil fuel investments, or other things he now opposes; since I think the point of activism is to try to change people’s minds, that strikes me as a good development not a bad one.
And as a governor on climate and energy issues, he’d be relentlessly focused; the Golden State is America’s leader in clean energy deployment, but it has much more to do, especially in linking that deployment to widespread prosperity. Steyer has been aggressive in taking on the utilities in California, a key next step.
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He's clearly in the running, and for my money (which is not measured by the billion) that’s a very good thing.
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