Sierra Club and climate change

• DATE: Established 1892

Mission

The Sierra Club was one of the first major environmental organizations to address climate change. In 2005, the organization took its efforts even farther by making climate change the centerpiece of its campaign for environmental protection for the next several years.

Founded in California by renowned environmentalist John Muir, the Sierra Club has grown from a club that promoted outdoor excursions to foster an appreciation for the natural environment to a grassroots political organization under David Brower, to a political powerhouse with state chapters and national offices in Washington, D.C. Historically, state chapters have focused on issues pertinent to their areas, while the national chapter campaigns for federal solutions to more widespread problems. With the national chapter’s commitment to the issue of global climate change, all chapters have converged on the issue, promoting local, regional, and national solutions. The club’s mission, while promoting the enjoyment of nature through outings, also includes educating and involving people in the protection of natural resources through all lawful means possible. Their efforts to combat global warming directly relate to their mission.

Significance for Climate Change

The Sierra Club first put global warming on its agenda in the late 1980s, after scientific reports indicated that humans may be responsible for warming and that the effects could be detrimental. During the 1990s, the Sierra Club focused on pressuring the federal government to take action. In 1992, the group funded a television advertising campaign aimed at President George H. W. Bush and his lack of attention to global warming at the 1992 Earth Summit. The club collaborated with other groups and held the unofficial Global Forum concurrently with the Rio Earth Summit. At the forum, strategies for influencing government that focused on influencing policies at the national level were discussed.

With Democrats in Congress, the Sierra Club maintained a dominant strategy of campaigning for federal action on global warming. This strategy was perpetuated by the election of President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore, who was seen as a sympathizer to the group’s cause. Under President Clinton and Vice President Gore, representatives of the Sierra Club and other members of the environmental movement were allowed to the table during policy formulations on global warming. Having open access to this level of policymaking facilitated a continuing strategy to focus their efforts on encouraging federal action on the issue. However, the club’s efforts did not result in the passage of federal legislation, and although Gore signed the Kyoto Protocol, it was seen as a largely symbolic gesture, as the Clinton administration failed to send the document to the Senate for ratification. The federal government had basically refused to make a commitment to greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

The Sierra Club’s strategy broadened, and it began a campaign to target automobile manufacturers in the mid-1990s. This campaign initially critiqued the use of cars and sports utility vehicles (SUVs) that have low gas mileage and thus contribute more carbon emissions to the atmosphere. It expanded to target companies making SUVs, and the club launched a full-scale attack on Ford’s Excursion in late 1998. In 2000, the Sierra Club presented Toyota with an environmental excellence award for the release of the Prius hybrid. It was the first time in the club’s 108-year history that it had honored a product. It continued its disparagement of SUVs into the new millennium.

In 2003, the Sierra Club joined forces with other environmental groups in lobbying the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate carbon emissions under the Clean Air Acts (1963-1990), but the agency refused. As a result, the Sierra Club joined other groups, states, cities, and petitioners in a suit against the EPA for not properly enforcing the Clean Air Acts. In 2007, the Supreme Court sided with the Sierra Club in Massachusetts v. EPA, agreeing that could be regulated under the Clean Air Acts.

In 2005, the Sierra Club changed the focus of its efforts. The main goal of its efforts became to move the United States beyond fossil fuel reliance as a solution for reducing carbon emissions. As part of this focus, the organization encourages states and cities to adopt legislation to move beyond fossil fuels. This strategy represented a direct response to a lack of federal action on global warming, although the club continued its traditional efforts to lobby for federal legislation on global warming as well. A cornerstone of this effort was the Sierra Club’s Smart Energy Solutions initiative. Within this initiative is the Clean Car Campaign, a continuing effort by the Sierra Club to encourage the federal government and automakers to raise the CAFE standards and allow states to do the same. The club sees improved fuel economy as the most important solution for reducing GHG emissions in the United States.

Another campaign within the Smart Energy Solutions initiative is the Cool Cities Campaign. Cool Cities encourages and supports local communities that sign on to the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, an effort started by Seattle mayor Greg Nickels to adopt the Kyoto Protocol at the local level. The campaign encourages new cities to join and provides a network of support for participating cities to share their success stories and learn from the efforts of other cities throughout the country. The campaign also provides support for grassroots organizers wishing to convince their home cities to sign the agreement. The club also encourages legislation at the state level to improve and investment in renewable energy. Furthermore, the Sierra Club opposes all new coal power plant through litigation and lobbying in an effort to move the country away from fossil fuel dependency.

The Sierra Club educates and encourages individuals to join its campaigns through a variety of outreach methods, including the Two Percent Solution campaign to reduce people’s carbon footprints through changes in lifestyle and personal consumption choices. The Two Percent Solution campaign is an effort to reduce carbon emissions by 2 percent per year, the amount needed to reduce emissions by 80 percent by 2050. The club has utilized the Internet to promote the Smart Energy Solutions initiative through the use of mass emailings and the Hotline E-newsletter, a bimonthly publication that consolidates news and information about global warming.

In 2024, the Sierra Club filed a lawsuit against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The lawsuit was in regard to a final rule published by the SEC that required public companies to disclose climate-related risks to their businesses. The final rule was less restrictive than the proposed rule, which the Sierra Club alleges is significantly less restrictive to businesses than the proposed rule. The Sierra Club then argued that in order to allow investors to make informed decisions, the SEC must require businesses to inform their investors about potential risks related to climate change.

Bibliography

Bosso, Christopher. Environment, Inc.: From Grassroots to Beltway. Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 2005.

Hjelmar, Ulf. The Political Practice of Environmental Organizations. Brookfield, Vt.: Avebury, 1996.

McCloskey, J. Michael. In the Thick of It: My Life in the Sierra Club. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 2005.

"Sierra Club, Earthjustice Lawsuit Challenges SEC's Weakened Climate Disclosure Rule." Sierra Club, 13 Mar. 2024, www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2024/03/sierra-club-earthjustice-lawsuit-challenges-sec-s-weakened-climate-risk. Accessed 19 Dec. 2024.