Equitable Energy Transition: The Biden administration announced the “Empowering Rural America (New ERA),” a $9.7 billion program designed to spark rural America’s clean energy transformation by helping rural electric cooperatives decarbonize rapidly, create new clean energy jobs, and lower energy costs. The Sierra Club helped bring this program to life. Through the New ERA program, the Sierra Club and our partners helped over 150 rural cooperatives apply, representing $93 billion of proposed investments in over 750 clean energy projects. The submitted proposals would reduce or avoid 127 million tons of greenhouse gas, equivalent to removing 24 million cars off the road for a year. President Biden’s clean energy policies are driving major changes across the power sector. The Sierra Club Foundation will continue empowering community efforts to take advantage of these programs, advancing an equitable clean energy transition for all.
National Monuments: In partnership with Tribal leaders, state Sierra Club chapters, and local activists, the Sierra Club has advocated tirelessly for the preservation of lands rich in ancestral heritage and ecological value. In 2023, the Biden administration established four new national monuments, protecting millions of acres of land and wildlife habitat. The Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni-Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument is now federally protected against extractive mining, ensuring that thousands of Native American cultural sites will be preserved. 1.4 million+ acres of public lands were protected via national monument designations in 2023. In Nevada, Avi Kwa Ame, the Mojave name for "Spirit Mountain," is culturally and historically significant to 12 Tribes. This corner of the Mojave Desert is sacred and home to endemic species like the bighorn sheep. We continued community organizing to build support for inclusive and expansive protections for important historic sites and ecological areas to meet our 30x30 goals.
