Leading to a Greener Tomorrow

NRDC is proving its ability to win lawsuits, despite right-wing U.S. Supreme Court decisions that give activist judges unprecedented power to skirt science and advance political and for-profit agendas. We apply commonsense tactics that can persuade even the most conservative judges: We lean into rigorous science; apply neutral legal principles rather than highlighting environmental policy benefits; and center limits on federal judicial authority and jurisdiction to avoid adverse results. NRDC will sue more often in state courts, staying away from the most hostile federal judges where possible. We will coordinate with allies in environmental law to maximize our impact and avoid duplicating efforts. And we will prosecute our cases selectively, focusing on the most damaging rollback cases instead of spreading ourselves thin.

NRDC will continue to build support for commonsense legislation centered on common-ground issues. This will include the newly improved Lead and Copper Rule, which will strengthen protections for communities whose drink-ing water is poisoned by municipal lead pipes and avoid tremendous human suffering and health care costs. We will also take advantage of the administration’s preference for trade restrictions and the unmatched size of the U.S. fish market to push for stronger measures against illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing practices that are not only tied to devastating fish populations but also to forced labor and other human rights abuses.

We will also initiate a campaign to expose the deceptive practices that Big Oil and other polluters use to confuse people about climate change to maximize profits over public health. Our work will range from using traditional and social media outreach to engaging with congressional investigations and new legislation to delivering vivid courtroom narratives that hold polluters accountable and focus public attention on the unsavory tactics and disinformation used by the industry to escape liability.

We will focus advocacy efforts on our priority states—including California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, and New York—where NRDC has strong relationships in the capitols and city halls. Anticipating resistance, NRDC has invested in building support for clean energy development and other bipartisan initiatives in red states too, making it harder for the Trump administration to withdraw them now. We'll continue to push politically ambitious governors, mayors, and other officials to boldly hold the line on actions that benefit their communities economically and environmentally. Our E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs) team will play an important role by demonstrating constituent demands—even in red states—for the manufacturing and maintenance jobs that come with clean energy infrastructure.

We will bring together our network of leading environmental voices—including U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, oceanographer and NRDC Honorary Trustee Sylvia Earle, and former NRDC CEO Gina McCarthy—to strengthen our strategy for speaking out against the likely U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement as well as advise on international decarbonization initiatives and conservation negotiations. These include implementing the groundbreaking high seas treaty and other national climate and biodiversity plans to protect at least 30 percent of the earth’s lands and oceans by 2030. NRDC will also continue to support energy and environmental policy development in China and bring affordable clean energy and energy efficiency strategies to scale in India—as long as U.S. foreign policy favors such international cooperation.

NRDC will mobilize the public to pressure their representatives to resist legislative attacks on health and environmental safeguards. And we will expand the cross-coalition partnerships we’ve been building in anticipation of right-wing opposition with both familiar and new progressive organizations, ranging from other green nonprofits and environmental justice groups to labor, reproductive rights, and business groups. Together, we will use our critical mass to defeat and minimize damaging congressional legislation and nominations as well as to maintain the filibuster, which will be critical to averting the reckless policymaking this administration is bound to propose.