Join Us
ABOUT
I’ve spent my life fighting for what I believe in. When I was 32, President Nixon had me arrested. 50 years later I was arrested five times for protesting the government’s inaction on climate change. It’s no secret that I have a history of ruffling feathers in Washington.
Today, support for climate action is unprecedented. The public is voting with the climate in mind, but the people we elect are not. This has led me to reflect on what we need to do to secure meaningful action on climate. Our planet is on fire and our leaders are failing us, so if we can’t change the minds of the people in power, we need to change the people in power.
It is for that reason that I started Jane Fonda Climate PAC, which is laser-focused on one goal: Do what it takes to defeat fossil fuel supporters and elect climate champions at all levels of government.
I believe this is the most important thing I will do in my lifetime.
OUR TEAM
Jane Fonda, Principal
Jane Fonda has famously dedicated her life to activism, most recently mobilizing thousands of people to take action on climate through Fire Drill Fridays, a set of weekly climate demonstrations on Capitol Hill. Her book, What Can I Do? My Path from Climate Despair to Action, equips activists with the tools needed to engage and take action on climate change.
Annie Leonard, Co-Executive Director of Greenpeace USA and creator of The Story of Stuff (organizations listed for identification purposes only).
Annie Leonard is an experienced and prominent climate change leader in the United States. She has a track record of over 30 years of activism and is currently the co-Executive Director of Greenpeace US where she leads a team to inspire and mobilize millions of people to take action to create a more sustainable and just future together.
Note: While Annie is advising Jane on a volunteer basis, Jane’s Climate PAC is independent from Greenpeace and the collaboration it runs with Jane, Fire Drill Fridays.
MISSION
The climate crisis poses unprecedented threats to our communities, our environment, our economy, and our security. It’s not too late to change our course. But it won’t happen as long as oil, gas, and coal companies maintain their stranglehold on American politics.
In 2020, the fossil fuel industry poured $139 million into our elections. This money has real consequences. Major solutions are stopped cold: the Green New Deal, Build Back Better, clean energy investments, ending billions in tax subsidies to the fossil fuel industry — all because of politicians backed by Big Oil.
Fossil fuel lobbyists and their money control Congress. They block actions with huge donations to politicians from both parties. Jane Fonda Climate PAC will help elect leaders who will rise to the urgency of this moment and stand up to the fossil fuel industry.
Jane Fonda Climate PAC will leverage the donations of those who are climate concerned to counter the outsized influence the fossil fuel industry has on our government. We will make sure politicians who support oil and gas are as afraid for their jobs as we are about the impending climate disaster.
WHY NOW
We have reached a stark turning point. We are no longer just imagining how the world will look in a disrupted climate; we’re seeing and feeling the reality of the crisis every single day as we witness wildfires, heat waves, and floods destroy communities. The most recent IPCC report told us that half of the world population is already in the danger zone, that every fraction of a degree matters, and that every second counts. Scientists tell us we have just eight years left to curtail fossil fuel use and prevent the worst climate outcomes.
It’s not too late to change our course. But it won’t happen as long as oil, gas, and coal companies maintain their stranglehold on American politics.
We have to cut our fossil fuel emissions in half in the next eight years to avoid complete climate disaster. That means we have just four election cycles to elect politicians who will stand up to the fossil fuel industry and fight for the future of our planet.
It’s not too late to make a change, but we need to act right away. We are going to target candidates and elected officials who are protecting fossil fuels instead of protecting people and the planet.
This moment calls for agile, aggressive action, and we are ready to provide it. This is just the start of an effort that will last for years to come, help level the playing field in our political system, and elect true climate leaders across the nation. If we don’t act now, things will only get worse.
2023 Endorsements
LOCAL
Helen Gym, Philadelphia Mayor
Helen has a long track-record as a climate champion - she has advocated for a municipal Green New Deal in Philadelphia and a strong ally of local environmental advocates. As a city councilor she challenged Philadelphia Gas Works on fossil fuel reliance, opposed a liquefied natural gas facility, and fought to maintain the city's path to carbon neutrality. We know that she will bring this passion an energy to the Mayor’s office when elected.
Amanda McIllmurray, Philadelphia City Council At-Large
Amanda Mcillmurray joined in the struggle against the Nicetown gas plant. She planned direct actions and was arrested protesting against the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline and Dakota Access Pipeline. She’s worked to elect champions for climate justice at every level of government. On Philadelphia City Council, Amanda will be a champion for working people in our fight against climate catastrophe and will take serious action to help lead us into a future of climate resiliency and justice.
Sara Innamorato, Alleghany County Executive
Sara knows that we are sacrificing our future and our well-being to maintain the fossil fuel and plastic manufacturing industries. She is one of the strongest voices for the environment in the legislature — she's fought hard to hold big polluters accountable, ensure clean air and safe drinking water, and fight climate change. She also sits on the state’s Climate Change Advisory Committee, where she’s been outspoken about the need to address climate change.
Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, San Antonio City Council
In his first term as a San Antonio City Councilman, Jalen successfully championed the closure of one of San Antonio’s major polluters, the CPS Energy Spruce Coal Power Plant, which will permanently bring an end to all coal-powered operations by 2028. In addition, he continues to advocate for increased accountability from the municipally-owned power company and an increased investment in home repair and home weatherization to mitigate the harmful effects of the climate crisis on San Antonio’s primarily black, indigenous and people of color community.
Teri Castillo, San Antonio City Council
Teri has been a long-time champion for the most vulnerable communities in San Antonio. In her first term, she fought to dramatically reduce San Antonio’s carbon footprint, and worked to repair infrastructure to protect against climate change–because, as she has said, it is here, not just coming. She continues to advocate for massive conservation and resource protection, and to push back on developers who want to pollute and harm clean water sources.
Sarah Parady, Denver City Council At-Large
Sarah comes from a town whose economy was deeply dependent on fossil fuel extraction, and she grew up seeing the consequences - occupational accidents, methamphetamine use by shift workers, destabilizing boom-bust cycles, and visible emissions. Once elected, she is committed to moving with the speed the climate crisis demands.
Candi CdeBaca, Denver City Council District 9
Candi has organized to file federal lawsuits against polluters to protect my historically redlined community, and has been a champion of reducing GHG through carbon taxation. She helped pass Colorado's first air monitoring bill and helped catalyze an EPA investigation of a local oil refinery. Those lawsuits have led to the first ever cumulative impact health assessments of the community and when elected she will push the local government to go beyond the minimal standards set by our state health department.
Tony Pigford, Denver City Council District 4
In 2019 Tony led a candidate pledge to ban fracking in Denver because he knows we must end our dependence on fossil fuels. He was part of the opposition to the I-70 expansion, and a part of the team from Yes to Parks and Open Spaces that fought to protect what little remaining green space is left in Denver from developers. Tony will do what it takes to protect our air, water and green spaces for generations to come.
Shontel Lewis, Denver City Council District 8
Residents of Denver are all too familiar with the fossil fuel industry polluting our air, water, and homes, forcing working people to pay exorbitant utility bills to cover their dependence on volatile, expensive methane gas to power our community. From electrifying residential and commercial properties on the demand side, to investing in renewable energy sources and storage on the supply side, we must do everything in our power to decarbonize Denver.
Shannon Hoffman, Denver City Council District 10
Denver has some of the worst air quality in the entire country, and it'll take both individual and systemic changes to move the needle on our climate goals. Shannon will prioritize bold, progressive policies – including an ambitious, just transition away from fossil fuels – that care for our people and planet.
Tiffany Caudill, Denver City Council District 2
Tiffany has been a community organizer and advocate for 10 years working on all social justice issues. Sheand her child have participated in direct actions with Sunrise movement, and she has worked on ballot initiatives and progressive candidates working to combat the climate crisis. With a long track record of protesting and pressuring elected officials on key fossil fuel issues like fracking, we know that she will bring that same enthusiasm to the city council when she’s elected.
Will Chan, Denver City Council At-Large
Will Chan will work tirelessly to employ regulations and policies to protect Denver communities from the harm inflicted by big oil and gas companies for their roles in climate change-related environmental damage, and will do the hard work it will take to make Denver a national leader in the transition away from fossil fuels.
Nick Campion, Denver City Council District 7
Nick knows that fossil fuels are the leading cause of the climate crisis and is commited to ensuring a sustainable planet for future generations. This is why he will do the hard work it will take to quickly transfer away from fossil fuels and to renewable energy sources when he’s elected.
Brandon Johnson, Chicago Mayor
As mayor, he will make Chicago a leader in sustainability, and usher in a Chicago Green New Deal that transforms the city and makes a better future possible. His administration will pass new environmental regulations to reduce and mitigate the pollutants that are fouling Chicago’s water and air – and it won’t take centuries for a Johnson administration to put those regulations into action.
Marco Santana, LA City Council District 6
Marco is a director at a nonprofit that provides services to the unhoused. He is also a lifelong resident of the Valley who knows that his community is on the frontlines of climate change due to extreme heat. As a member of the Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley and San Fernando Valley Young Democrats, he has pushed for climate legislation, such as fossil fuel divestment in public pensions and setbacks for oil drilling. As a Councilmember, he will continue to fight for an end to oil drilling in Los Angeles, a just transition for fossil fuel workers, and environmental justice in the region.
The Climate Crisis - Caused by Fossil Fuels
The fossil fuel industry is by far the leading cause of the climate emergency: eighty five percent of U.S. greenhouse gas pollution comes from oil, gas, and coal.
It has been well documented that the fossil fuel industry understood the climate science for over half a century, but instead of taking action, funded a massive disinformation campaign to confuse people, and relentlessly blocked climate action and alternatives to their dirty products.
Don’t be fooled by today’s greenwashing – oil, gas, and coal companies don’t plan to stop anytime soon, nor do the politicians who support them.
Globally, industry plans to produce more than twice the amount of oil, gas, and coal by 2030 than is consistent with limiting warming to the 1.5 degree temperature guardrail scientists say we must maintain to preserve a livable planet. In fact, the fossil fuels already in development globally contain enough carbon to blow through that 1.5 degree limit, meaning that new development must not be allowed and existing fields and mines must be shut down before their reserves are fully depleted. Yet U.S. producers, using fracking, are poised to unleash unprecedented oil and gas expansion that would make maintaining a safe climate virtually impossible. That must not be allowed to happen.
A vast scientific literature has documented that fossil-fuel driven climate change is an existential “threat to human well-being and planetary health” and that every increase in fossil fuel pollution pushes us further toward a dangerous and increasingly unlivable planet. The climate emergency is here, and it is killing people, intensifying food insecurity, driving political unrest, causing ecosystem collapse, and creating escalating suffering across the nation and around the world. The climate crisis also furthers glaring injustice, with Black, Latino, Indigenous, Asian American and Pacific Islanders, and other communities of color and low-wealth communities experiencing the gravest harms.
Read more about the science and why time has already run out:
Release of the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, Working Group II
IPCC Special Report on 1.5 Degrees
U.S. Global Change Research Program, Fourth National Climate Assessment