U.S. Climate Action Network (US-CAN) is an environmentalist advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C. and the national affiliate of Climate Action Network International (CAN-I). The organization uses tactics such as protests, policy advocacy, and smear campaigns to support environmentalist advocacy campaigns. The organization lists many left-leaning and progressive organizations as coalition “members” and conveys a left-of-center viewpoint on environmentalism.

US Climate Action Network opposes the use of carbon free nuclear energy and has promoted the elimination of all existing civilian nuclear power stations in the United States. ¹

Member Organizations

US-CAN advertises memberships with other environmentalist organizations that it claims “fight climate change in a just and equitable way.” Member organizations include many left-leaning organizations such as the Service Employees International Union, Center for American Progress, 350.org, Greenpeace, NAACP, Oxfam America, and Sierra Club. ²

Campaigns

People’s Climate March

The People’s Climate March is an organized protest that occurs in multiple U.S. cities annually. Organized by People’s Climate Movement, the organization claims that hundreds of thousands of protesters marched in such cities as San Francisco, Washington D.C., and more in the 2018 march. More than half of the organizations involved with or sponsoring the march were members of US-CAN as of 2017 according to US-CAN annual reports. ^{3 4}

Paris Climate Accord

During the Paris Climate Accord in 2015 and 2016, US-CAN activists worked alongside those of Avaaz, another left-leaning environmentalist organization, pasted “wanted posters” that showed opponents of the U.N.-backed environmental agreement in a mugshot-like fashion around Paris. Writers for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Heartland Institute, and other conservative think-tanks were portrayed along with Benjamin Sporton, an Australian coal executive, and Bjorn Lomborg, a Danish skeptic of environmentalist policy priorities. ⁵

Strategic Plan

US-CAN announced a 5-year plan lasting from 2017 to 2022 with the goal of growing its network of member organizations to be able to further spread its message. The goals have less to do with environmental activism than growing the list of member organizations and reforming the leadership of the network. ⁶

Opposition to Nuclear Energy

US Climate Action Network opposes the use of nuclear energy. US CAN’s Vision for Equitable Climate Action, released in 2022, placed nuclear energy on a list of “false climate solutions.” The official policy paper opposed the creation of new nuclear energy facilities and advocated for the elimination of existing nuclear energy production. ⁷

Nuclear power plants produce no carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gas emissions, and as of 2021 accounted for 19 percent of American electricity production—the largest source of zero carbon electricity in the United States. ⁸ An October 2018 proposal from The Nature Conservancy noted that zero-carbon nuclear plants produced 7.8 percent of total world energy output and recommended reducing carbon emissions by increasing nuclear capacity to 33 percent of total world energy output. ⁹

Leadership

Executive Director

Keya Chatterjee is the executive director of US-CAN. She previously served as a senior director at the World Wildlife Fund, a left-leaning environmentalist organization and as a climate change specialist for the U.S. Agency of International development. ¹⁰

Board of Directors

David Turnbull is the chair of the board of directors of US-CAN. He previously served as the executive director of Climate Action Network International, the parent organization of US-CAN. Turnbull also worked as a program coordinator and research analyst at World Resource Institute, a left-leaning environmental advocacy organization. ¹¹

Heather Coleman is the vice chair of the board of directors of US-CAN. She previously served as a senior communications associate at Earthjustice. She has also worked as the climate change and energy director at Oxfam America, a left-of-center- advocacy group, and Wallace Global Fund, a left-leaning grantmaking organization that has made multiple grants to different chapters of Climate Action Network. ¹²

Kyle Ash is a member of the board of directors of US-CAN. He also works as senior legislative representative for Greenpeace, one of the largest left-leaning environmental advocacy organizations in the country. ¹³

Funding

According to 2017 IRS returns for US-CAN, the organization took in total revenues of $5,092,861, an increase of more than $2 million from its reported 2016 revenues. ¹⁴

US-CAN has received multiple grants from Sea Change International, a major left-leaning environmental advocacy organization founded by Nathaniel Simons, son of hedge fund billionaire James Simons. Grants in 2016 totaled to $1,125,000. ¹⁵ US-CAN received a $46,106 grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, a left-leaning foundation that supports environmental causes and population control. ¹⁶

US-CAN awarded $400,227 in grants to support environmentalist-directed organizing by member groups. Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, Clean Air Coalition, Creation Justice Ministries, Georgia Women’s Action for New Directions (WAND), GreenLatinos, and Iowa Interfaith Power and Light all received grants from US-CAN in 2017. ¹⁷

1. Vision for Equitable Climate Action. US Climate Action Network. 2022. Accessed July 28, 2023. https://equitableclimateaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Vision-for-Equitable-Climate-Action-2022-edition.pdf
2. “Member Organizations.” US Climate Action Network. Accessed March 15, 2019. https://www.usclimatenetwork.org/member-organizations.
3. “Our Movement.” Peoples Climate Movement. Accessed March 14, 2019. https://peoplesclimate.org/our-movement/.
4. “Annual Reports.” US Climate Action Network. Accessed March 14, 2019. https://www.usclimatenetwork.org/annual_reports.
5. Chan, Swell. “A Stunt by Environmental Activists Targets Climate Doubters.” The New York Times. December 07, 2015. Accessed March 15, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/cp/climate/2015-paris-climate-talks/a-stunt-by-environmental-activists-targets-climate-skeptics.
6. “Strategic Plan 2017-2022.” US Climate Action Network. Accessed March 20, 2019. https://www.usclimatenetwork.org/strategic_plan_2017_2022.
7. Vision for Equitable Climate Action. US Climate Action Network. 2022. Accessed July 28, 2023. https://equitableclimateaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Vision-for-Equitable-Climate-Action-2022-edition.pdf
8. “Nuclear explained.” U.S. Energy Information Administration. Accessed July 25, 2023. https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/nuclear/us-nuclear-industry.php
9. “The Science of Sustainability.” The Nature Conservancy. October 13, 2018. Accessed July 25, 2023. https://www.nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-insights/perspectives/the-science-of-sustainability/
10. “Keya Chatterjee.” LinkedIn. Accessed March 14, 2019. https://www.linkedin.com/in/keya-chatterjee-937a3986/.
11. “David Turnbull.” LinkedIn. Accessed March 14, 2019. https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmturnbull/.
12. “Heather Coleman.” LinkedIn. Accessed March 14, 2019. https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-coleman-51471137/.
13. “Kyle Ash.” Greenpeace USA. Accessed March 14, 2019. https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/bios/kyle-ash/.
14. IRS Return of Nonprofit Organization: “US Climate Action Network.” Part I, Line 12.
15. “FoundationSearch Grant Visualizer.” Homepage | Metasoft Systems Inc. Accessed March 15, 2019. http://www.foundationsearch.com/FindFunders/GrantVisualizer.aspx?searchid=4288785.
16. “FoundationSearch Grant Visualizer.” Homepage | Metasoft Systems Inc. Accessed March 15, 2019. http://www.foundationsearch.com/FindFunders/GrantVisualizer.aspx?searchid=4288785.
17. “Annual Reports.” US Climate Action Network. Accessed March 14, 2019. https://www.usclimatenetwork.org/annual_reports.