At Climate Solutions, we think the future is incredibly bright, and the Northwest continues to be a shining light in the global effort to stop climate change and build a vibrant, equitable, clean energy economy. We’re grateful to the many of you who joined us and donated generously at our Annual Breakfast on Monday morning, at which we raised more than $419,000 from sponsors and guests. Thanks also to those of you who GaveBIG last week!
Climate Solutions is focused on several critical goals to accelerate the transition to clean energy and address the climate crisis:
- Pass and implement cutting-edge policies to reduce climate change and accelerate clean energy solutions in Washington and Oregon
- Defeat all proposals to build infrastructure that locks in our dependence on fossil fuels, including coal export terminals and oil transport facilities
- Demonstrate that the rapid transition to clean energy and a low-carbon economy is possible, practical, and necessary
Our speakers joined me in conveying the theme of our opportunity for a bright future:
BENSON/SQUIRE
Our Breakfast emcee and board member Hanson Hosein set the tone,
The real reason I'm here is for those who aren't here today--specifically my 5- and 8-year-old kids. They're really well educated already on the impacts of climate change; they know we've had the hottest April, they know about the coral reef bleaching in Australia. And when they wonder a decade or two from now, what did my Dad do about this? I hope they think I did more than try.
Aimée Christensen, breakfast keynote speaker and CEO of Christensen Global Strategies, noted,
We have these converging forces of the urgency of climate change: the recognition of what fossil fuels are doing to our communities; clean energy innovations and cost declines; and a broad-based recognition of this low-carbon economy opportunity, leading to global political agreement, most recently in Paris. The question is, will we build our bright future fast enough up to capitalize on these opportunities, or will we face far more impacts than we'd like to see?
Aimée's Powerpoint slides, illustrating her keynote remarks, can be found here.
Brenna Davis, Sustainability Director, Virginia Mason, spoke from the heart about the vision for a prosperous, sustainable, equitable future, and how we must harness the best of our human nature to act now on climate change.
We are in a new era of urgent environmental intergenerational justice. We must grow in compassion for our neighbors, our brothers and sisters around the globe, and also for the people of the future who will carry our DNA but whom we will never meet.
Thank you Brenna for making a wonderful ask for philanthropic support for Climate Solutions, and for your extraordinary leadership with Washington Business for Climate Action.
Whether it’s the rapid decline in the price of solar and wind power, the continued success of energy efficiency, or the growth of electric cars, clean fuels and public transit, it is clear that we are reaching a tipping point for the clean energy economy. The only question is whether we can collectively accelerate solutions and cut pollution fast enough to stem the worst impacts of climate change.
Success in these endeavors will require partnerships and a unity of diverse voices like we’ve never seen before – from labor unions, business allies, communities of color, faith organizations, health advocates, women's organizations, the environmental community, and many more.
We can, we must, and we will continue to deliver climate and clean energy policies, models, and partnerships that accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to a clean energy economy.
Your support makes our work possible. If you weren’t able to attend the Annual Breakfast on May 9, please consider a gift today to Climate Solutions! Thank you for championing the cause with us, and for building a bright future.
We're in this together!
P.S. We truly had a room full of climate leaders at our breakfast, and I’d be remiss to not thank our sponsors, table hosts, table captains and volunteers!
In addition to Hanson, Brenna, and Aimée we would also like to thank the others who made our 8th Annual Breakfast event a success:
- Ross Macfarlane–Thank you for your many years of climate and business leadership!
- Our sponsors, table hosts, table captains, public officials, foundations, donors, volunteers and guests in the room.
- Nonfiction Media for photographing the event and to Shew Design for the design of our printed materials.
