We take on big fights. We believe that solving climate change means fighting for justice. We believe that people are at the center of change. We believe we will win by building the biggest and broadest coalition possible. And we use every tool available. We are the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN).
CCAN started after Founder and Executive Director, Mike Tidwell, saw the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Third Assessment Report in 2001. It showed evidence of accelerated global warming driven by human activities, and the catastrophic projections for the future, unless we took action. This report changed everything for Mike. It spurred him to make his house entirely green and he began hosting weekly open houses for community members. Everyone who came for a tour shared their contact information, this list eventually became the start of CCAN!
Since then, CCAN has grown to a team of 25 staff and over 200,000 supporters nationwide. CCAN’s supporters have played a vital role in achieving major wins for our climate and future. These victories include passing some of the nation’s earliest renewable energy portfolio standards in Maryland and D.C., banning fracking in Maryland, working with partners to help defeat the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, and putting the entire region on the path to 100 percent clean energy.
Given our narrowing window to address climate change, we must now step up with even greater urgency. We’re pushing for groundbreaking solutions on the state and federal level to electrify buildings, protect our coastal communities, make big fossil fuel polluters pay for the climate crisis, and revolutionize public transportation.
We’re so thankful for our supporters. When they make a commitment to CCAN by investing time and/or financial resources into our work, they’re enabling us to invest back in our communities, to meet the threats of climate change head on, and to build a world oriented towards climate justice.
