On December 16, the Maryland legislature voted to override the veto of the Responding to Emergency Needs from Extreme Weather (RENEW) Act, making it law. Just days earlier, Governor Moore signaled a shift from veto to full-fledged support when he announced that he would advance $270,000 to jump-start the study. The law authorizes state agencies to assess the costs that climate change has...
The Environment Grantmakers Association announced today that it awarded its third annual Donald K. Ross Founders Award to RFF Director Lee Wasserman. In their announcement, EGA writes "Lee Wasserman is an inspiring, innovative, and bold leader whose advocacy efforts have held the fossil fuel industry to account for their willful damage to the environment. As Director of the Rockefeller...
Hahrie Han, a political scientist at Johns Hopkins University and longtime collaborator of the Democracy and Power Innovation Fund, has been named one of 22 recipients of a 2025 MacArthur Fellowship, among the nation's most prestigious and significant recognitions.
Over the past 20 years, Hahrie has led groundbreaking research to demonstrate that base-building organizing provides the...
Across the country, communities are crossing political divides and uniting against the oil and gas industry. The Funder Collaborative’s new series in the Stanford Social Innovation Review shares stories of those who are fighting to hold the industry accountable, ideas for how we can nurture this growing social movement, and insights for repairing our civic life.
The first...
The Rockefeller Family Fund mourns the recent passing of Anne Bartley, who served on the board of RFF for more than twenty years, including three as its board chair. In a retrospective prepared for the 50th anniversary of the RFF, Anne said she was heavily influenced by her board service with RFF and its founding director Robert Scrivner. “RFF was innovative, entrepreneurial, and...
Earlier this week, suit was filed against seven oil and gas companies for their responsibility in the wrongful death of Juliana Leon. The claim, brought by Ms. Leon's daughter with support from RFF grantee, the Center for Climate Integrity, alleges that the oil and gas companies failed to warn the public of the dangers of the planet-warming emissions produced by their products.
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published a list of projects that would qualify for “emergency” permits in response to President Trump’s declaration of a national energy emergency. David Bookbinder, the director of law and policy at EIP is quoted in the New York Times saying, “The Trump administration appears to be gearing up to use false claims of an ‘energy...
Albany Law named RFF Director, Lee Wasserman, to its list of alumni who are “making waves in environmental law, policy, protections, and efforts to make a better world for all of us.” Read the full write-up here.
Lee Wasserman spoke with the Capitol Press Room on New York’s groundbreaking law to hold major polluters accountable for their contributions to climate change. Listen to the interview here.
In response to the Wall Street Journal's article “New York Will Now Tax America” (Dec. 28), RFF Director Lee Wasserman submitted a letter to the editor, featured in the Journal's opinion section, defending Governor Hochul's decision to sign the Climate Change Superfund Act into law. In his letter, Mr. Wasserman argues that "the costs of climate...