WVA Coal Miners Union Says, “Good Green Jobs Good”, Meet MobilizeGreen, L.E.A.F. Coalition Partners With Major Countries and Corps. and Business Green Announces Netzero Festival, 2021

MEET MOBILIZEGREEN.ORG

At the Climate Daily, our prime objective is to tell stories of the world through the lens of the climate crisis. Our mission is to amplify the voices of underserved, marginalized and communities of color. Leah Allen understands that. Allen is president of the non-profit MobilizeGreen. And according to it, only 12% of leaders at environmental nonprofits, foundations, and governmental agencies are diverse. MobilizeGreen is on a mission to close this gap so the environmental movement reflects the communities most impacted by environmental challenges.

MobilizeGreen was founded in 2014 on the belief that young people can solve the world’s environmental challenges, if trained properly and given the right opportunities. The opportunities this organization offers include internships with employers, attendance and exposure to conferences, webinars (in the Age of COVID) and career fairs. There is also a heavy emphasis on youth conservation training. MobilizeGreen has a robust partnership with the Youth Conservation Corps.

And, since 2016 MobilizeGreen has partnered with the U.S. Forest Service to bring diverse high school students together for an immersive residential program focused on conservation, leadership, community building, and green career exploration. So far, MobilizeGreen has engaged over 1200 diverse young people in internships, youth conservation programs, and professional development opportunities in partnership with government agencies, nonprofits, and corporations.

DEEPER DIVE: MobilizeGreen, Youth Conservation Corps, Leah Allen

WEST VIRGINIA COAL MINERS UNION SAYS, “GOOD GREEN JOBS ARE GOOD FOR US!”

The nation’s largest coal miners’ union said it would accept President Joe Biden’s plan to move away from coal and other fossil fuels in exchange for a “true energy transition” that includes thousands of jobs in renewable energy and spending on technology to make coal cleaner. Cecil Roberts, president of the United Mine Workers of America, said ensuring jobs for displaced miners — including 7,000 coal workers who lost their jobs last year — is crucial to any infrastructure bill taken up by Congress.

“I think we need to provide a future for those people, a future for anybody that loses their job because of a transition in this country, regardless if it’s coal, oil, gas or any other industry for that matter,” Roberts said in an online speech to the National Press Club. A plan put forward by the mine workers’ union calls for: significant expansion of tax incentives for renewable energy and preference in hiring for dislocated miners; full funding for programs to plug old oil and gas wells and clean up abandoned mines; and continued incentives to develop so-called carbon capture and storage technology that traps carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels and stores it underground.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., appearing with Roberts at the Press Club event, said measures to help coal miners in West Virginia and other rural states must be part of the $2.3 trillion infrastructure package taking shape in Congress.

DEEPER DIVE: NewsBreak, AmeriTrade Research, Yahoo! Finance

L.E.A.F. COALITION PARTNERS WITH MAJOR COUNTRIES AND CORPORATIONS

The United States is joining the United Kingdom, Norway and a group of companies including Amazon to launch a $1 billion initiative to protect tropical forests as part of a wider effort to lower greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. The LEAF Coalition, formally the Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest finance (LEAF) Coalition, aims to include additional countries and companies in the months ahead. The full list of coalition participants—and the total financial support mobilized—will be announced by the end of the year, when emissions reduction purchase agreements are signed with tropical rainforest countries.

The three governments unveiled the Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest finance coalition on Thursday to focus on reducing emissions from tropical and subtropical forest countries as well as ending deforestation. The announcement comes after President Joe Biden set an ambitious target of reducing emissions roughly in half by 2030 at a virtual climate summit as Washington looks to take on a leading role in the global effort to tackle climate change. John Kerry, Biden’s special envoy for climate, said the LEAF Coalition was an example of the kind of collaboration needed to fight climate change and reach net-zero emissions globally by 2050.

DEEPER DIVE: LEAF Coalition, Business Green, Yahoo!

BUSINESS GREEN’S NETZERO FEST 2021

Here’s something worth marking on your calendars: Business Green, a division of Incisive Media will host “Net Zero Festival 2021”, Wednesday 29 September – Friday 1 October. Incisive Media is dedicated to the belief that “A responsible approach to the environment is essential to ensure the future sustainability of our business and the role that we play in the communities that we serve. Our view is that care for the environment goes hand in hand with our work as a media business.” 

And that’s why Net Zero Festival 2021. The reality is climate change is the most fundamental, and potentially most difficult challenge to overcome in human history. We are literally fighting for our lives, so, why not enjoy the fight? After all, “The development of a net zero emission economy is the defining business trend of the age, uniting the desire to build back better from the coronavirus crisis, the pursuit of sustainable development and environmental justice, and the global effort to avert a climate catastrophe.”

At last count, thousands of businesses, hundreds of national and regional governments, and trillions of dollars of finance have committed to building a net zero emission economy within 30 years. So why not show it off? That’s the concept behind Net Zero Festival 2021. The goal of the festival will provide a unique platform to throw a spotlight on the global green industrial revolution, showcase the best net zero strategies, and explore how to accelerate this historic transition. The Climate Daily will keep you informed of all goings on as we race toward fall 2021.

DEEPER DIVE: Incisive Media, BusinessGreen, NetZero Fest 2021