About Us

We are elders, including grandparents, great aunts and great uncles who care about the future for all children. As Elders Climate Action members, we are determined to do all we can to leave a sustainable planet for future generations.

ECA is non-partisan, and we do not support, endorse, or advocate for any political party or candidate.

We work to inform, inspire, and engage others to take action on the climate crisis. We actively support the youth movements springing up in the United States and throughout the world.

Mission

The mission of Elders Climate Action is to mobilize elders throughout the United States to address climate change while there is still time to protect the well-being of our grandchildren and future generations. We are dedicated to using the power of our caring, our wisdom and our numbers to push for strong policies that will reduce greenhouse gases in our atmosphere to a level consistent with life thriving on our planet.

History

Elders Climate Action (ECA) was conceived in 2014 by a small group of committed people as a project of Elders Action Network (EAN), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to encourage elders to take action on the social and environmental challenges of our time.

A Special Acknowledgement of Our Founder, Paul Severance, (Retired). Paul Severance spent most of his working life as a community organizer, in retirement, Paul turned his attention to the existential threat posed by climate change. He founded Elders Climate Action, stepping down from his role at ECA in the fall 2017, and now serves as a Congressional Liaison for Citizens Climate Lobby.

Annual Reports


2020 Annual Report	2019 Annual Report	2018 Annual Report

ECA’s National Leadership Committees

ECA is elder-driven and relies on the dedicated commitment of the volunteers on our National Committees. View the full list of committees below and contact us if you would like to get involved!

Coordinating Council

The ECA Coordinating Council represents ECA as a whole, with representation from each of the ECA leadership committees. The Council focuses on strategic planning, marketing, fundraising, and organizational infrastructure to best carry out our mission. This council coordinates between all ECA committees to develop, review and update the ECA strategic plan each year. The Coordinating Council reviews and approves all ECA national actions, policies, and campaigns. Coordinating Council works together to strategize to increase membership, engagement, and exposure. In addition, the council develops the funding requirements to support the objectives of the strategic plan and pursues raising funds, as well as coordinates ECA activity within the entire EAN organization.

Policy

The purpose of the Policy Committee is to review, revise and submit for concurrence ECA’s policy statements which mirror the latest climate science and reflect the numerous efforts of ECA’s chapters and members. Current emphasis is on collaborations and subcommittee participation with the U.S. Climate Action Network (USCAN) of which ECA is an active and voting member. Committee members are engaged with USCAN subcommittees in developing climate policy proposals for eventual Congressional submission in over 10 critical climate sectors such as energy, manufacturing, transportation, agriculture, buildings and more.

Communications Committee

This committee is responsible for communication with members and the public with the goal of expanding the number of elders engaged with ECA. Our communications focus on three areas: informing, inspiring and engaging elders. This is accomplished through use of social media postings, a monthly e-newsletter, bi-monthly or more frequent bulletins, monthly Tea and Talk conversations that create a sense of community and letters to elected officials. This committee, working with our part-time staff person, develops, composes and edits all written material for our website, newsletter and marketing media including materials for national events and collaborations. The committee is responsible for responding to media inquiries, presenting the public face of ECA and all general inquiries sent to ECA.

Collaborations (and Partnerships)

This Committee engages in and coordinates both partnerships and collaborations on a national level. Partnerships are relationships with other organizations with similar missions and interests. Collaborations are deeper relationships with organizations and generally involve engagement with a specific short term project or a long term ongoing relationship that involves regular interaction. Examples include Moms Clean Air Force Play-in as a project and Future Coalition and USCAN as ongoing deep relationships. The Collaborations Committee will strengthen relationships and embark on new relationships throughout the year.

Council of Chapters

Council of Chapters encourages peer learning and support across existing chapters and chapters in formation. It provides a forum in which chapter leaders and select chapter members can share challenges and successes and explore with members of other chapters different ways to fulfill ECA’s mission of mobilizing elders to address climate change in their cities, counties, states and the nation as a whole. The Council of Chapters meets on the third Wednesday of the month.

Education

The Education Committee focuses on planning, developing and implementing educational opportunities for ECA members, elders and the general public. Their role includes planning monthly National Calls and semi-annual webinar series including vetting and arranging for speakers for those programs. In addition, the committee can develop fact sheets and other educational materials for print, website and presentations. The committee will work closely with the Communications Committee and other Committees that may make recommendations of topics and/or speakers. One member of this committee will sit on the Coordinating Council to make sure there is open communication and awareness across ECA’s leadership.

Equity Advisory Committee

The ECA Equity Advisory Committee ensures ECA’s commitment to climate and environmental justice through the lens of anti-racism in all our organizational efforts. The committee serves three primary functions:

Establish and implement goals and an evaluation process for all ECA campaigns, policies, and actions, and suggest specific ways to improve our effectiveness in maintaining equity and inclusivity. Provide regular evaluation reports to the Coordinating Council.
Identify organizations that, like ECA, are committed to eliminating racism and economic injustice in climate policies and actions, and support a fair-for-all transition to sustainable energy practices. Make recommendations to the Collaborations Committee for relationships with such organizations.
Monitor and evaluate the ways in which ECA utilizes the Jemez Principles, an element of the organizational values we have committed to carry out.