Director Mike Tidwell says: “No Maryland leader has done more to fight against climate change and promote clean energy across our region and beyond.”
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network Action Fund (CCAN Action Fund) announced its endorsement of United States Senator Chris Van Hollen (Democrat, Maryland) for re-election in 2022 based on his extraordinary leadership confronting the climate crisis.
“For two decades, Senator Chris Van Hollen has been an urgent voice on climate change and a stubborn advocate for real solutions. No Maryland leader has done more to fight against climate change and promote clean energy across our region and beyond,” said Mike Tidwell, executive director of the CCAN Action Fund. “From the Annapolis State House to the U.S. House of Representatives to the U.S. Senate, Van Hollen has relentlessly challenged big polluters and worked for climate justice for all Marylanders. He is precisely the sort of bold leader we need in the US Senate to tackle the climate emergency over the next six years and beyond. The Chesapeake Climate Action Network Action Fund wholeheartedly endorses Senator Chris Van Hollen for re-election.”
Senator Van Hollen has been a leading climate champion in Congress since he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2002 and then the U.S. Senate in 2016. Over the years, he has led a variety of legislative efforts to address the global climate change crisis. For example, Senator Van Hollen recently:
- Secured $7 billion in resources for Maryland from the national infrastructure modernization law – including funds to increase the use of clean electric cars by building more vehicle charging stations.
- Authored bipartisan, bicameral legislation called the “HOPE for HOMES Act” to make homes more energy efficient in order to fight climate change and lower everyday costs for Marylanders.
- Authored and was lead sponsor of the ground-breaking “Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act,” which would require the biggest polluters to help pay to clean up the mess they created.
In addition, Senator Van Hollen also worked to include clean water and key climate provisions in President Biden’s “Build Back Better” package. Van Hollen states that “environmental protection is not just about the future of our planet — it’s about clean air, public health and the quality of life for all.”
The CCAN Action Fund has actively supported these legislative efforts and seen the importance of Senator Van Hollen’s leadership firsthand. Now its endorsement comes days after United Nations’ scientists released their latest climate science report, which found that delaying climate action would cause the world to “miss a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all.”
Tidwell concluded: “We have to do what we can right NOW to elect national leaders who will take bold steps to promote clean energy and protect our climate. And we call on other groups to do the same. Even groups that may not have a history of endorsing (but are able to), we call on you to endorse Van Hollen and other climate champions to the United States Congress.”
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The CCAN Action Fund is the advocacy arm of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, the first grassroots organization dedicated exclusively to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in the Chesapeake Bay region. For 17 years, CCAN has been at the center of the fight for clean energy and wise climate policy in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.
