Earlier this month, government leaders and energy executives from around the world convened in San Francisco for the 7th International Clean Energy Ministerial, the next step in implementing the historic global climate agreement reached in Paris late last year.
The first stop for some of them: E2.
At an opening reception co-sponsored by E2 and The Climate Registry (pictured above), the U.S. Department of Energy’s undersecretary of science delivered a personal briefing about the international gathering. E2 members heard from the chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board, as well as the chairman of the California Energy Commission. Dignitaries from around the country and around the globe – including representatives of several countries, a few states and about a dozen Chinese energy officials and their interpreter – shared ideas about the world’s energy future at the standing-room only event at NRDC’s San Francisco office.
There are many good reasons to be a member of E2. One of them is access to truly world-class events (in this case, literally) where E2 members can meet first hand with the politicians and policymakers shaping our environmental and economic policies.
In the past year alone, E2 has held more than 50 events for its members in every corner of the country, thanks to the hard work of our E2 staff and chapter leaders. If you haven’t taken advantage of some of these unique educational and networking events, you’ve missed a lot.
Some examples from the past few months alone:
*In Colorado, E2 Rockies advocate Susan Nedell hosted former Gov. Bill Ritter for a discussion on the country’s energy future at her home near Boulder (read more about the event here).
*In New York, E2 chapter leaders and members were part of a “Concert for Clean Power” in Brooklyn as part of E2’s participation in a major new campaign for clean energy in that state.
*In Virginia, Iowa and Massachusetts, E2’s Mid-Atlantic, Midwest and New England chapters sponsored business roundtables and networking luncheons focusing on the future of clean energy and the federal Clean Power plan.
*Back in California, E2 Los Angeles chapter members and guests mixed and mingled poolside (photo below) with the chairwoman of the State Water Resources Board and the chief sustainability officer for the city of Los Angeles at a water-focused event hosted at the Santa Monica home of E2 chapter director Christina Erickson.
At E2, advocacy is at the core of everything we do.
Our signature advocacy trips to Washington, D.C. and to statehouses around the country, where we bring business voices to bear on environmental policies, are always among the most important events we orchestrate.
But in between, from Boston and Brooklyn, to Des Moines and Detroit, to Seattle and San Diego, we’re also bringing together business people, policymakers, politicians and others on a regular basis to learn, network and collectively do good for the economy and the environment.
If you haven’t attended an E2 event recently, I’d encourage you to do so. It’s a great way to meet your fellow E2 members and business leaders, learn the latest on environmental policies and take advantage of your E2 membership benefits. Go to www.e2.org/all-eventsto learn more.
And if you have an idea for an E2 event or online webinar you’d like to see or host, please contact E2 events manager Ying Li or myself.
Thanks for all you do – and I hope to see you at an E2 event soon,
Bob Keefe is E2’s Executive Director.