NRDC’s Derrell Slaughter Appointed to Michigan’s Council on Climate Solutions
LANSING – Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced today the appointment of Derrell Slaughter to the Council on Climate Solutions. Slaughter is the Michigan Clean Energy Advocate for NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) and currently serves on the Ingham County Board of Commissioners as the commissioner representing the 3rd district, South Lansing. He is a Michigan native with a long history of engagement in energy policy, community organizing, and political campaigns.
In September 2020, Governor Whitmer directed the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, to develop, issue, and oversee the implementation of the MI Healthy Climate Plan, which included the creation of the Council on Climate Solutions. The council is composed of individuals representing various sectors and communities throughout Michigan, who will use their diversity of experiences to ensure that the state pursues and achieves its carbon neutrality goals as effectively and equitably as possible.
Statements follow from Derrell Slaughter, Michigan Clean Energy Advocate, and Samantha Williams, Director Midwest Region Climate Clean Energy, at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):
“As a lifelong Michigander and climate activist, I’m excited to join the council and help ensure all voices are represented, especially those forced to live in neighborhoods with poor air and water quality,” said Derrell Slaughter, Michigan Clean Energy Advocate at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). “We have the opportunity to position our state as a leader on climate change policy by developing the most ambitious transformational climate action plan for the state of Michigan. I look forward to working with Governor Whitmer’s administration and my colleagues on the council to position our state as a climate leader.”
“We are excited to have Derrell join the council at a critically important moment for Michigan, our country, and the globe. The climate crisis is the existential threat of our time. We must move swiftly. Derrell is the right person to help Governor Whitmer’s administration rise to this challenge,” said Samantha Williams, Director Midwest Region Climate Clean Energy, at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). “Derrell is well-positioned to translate Governor Whitmer’s climate vision into action. He knows that climate change is a threat multiplier and is visited first and worst on communities that are already experiencing the cumulative impacts of COVID-19, decades of local pollution, racial discrimination, and systemic underinvestment.”
###
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City; Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Chicago; Bozeman, Montana; and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.