Keeling Curve

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Project Summary / Description:

The Stand Up To Oil (SUTO) Coalition formed in 2014 to defend the Pacific Northwest from the dangers of oil moving through our communities and to prevent the development of new infrastructure that would lock our region into an ongoing reliance on fossil fuels and slow our transition to clean energy. A primary threat driving SUTO was the fossil fuel industry‚ effort to develop new oil-by-rail terminals that would dramatically increase oil transport through the region. 

SUTO has been remarkably successful as a coalition‚Äîstopping eight proposed oil-by-rail terminals in Oregon and Washington and establishing four robust bulk fossil fuel bans in communities targeted by the fossil fuel industry. SUTO‚ work spans the Columbia River, the southwest Washington coast, and Puget Sound. SUTO is made up of environmental, local, and faith organizations, and other key partners from across the Pacific Northwest. We collaborate with Tribal Nations, labor unions, and businesses.

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Reduces GHGs (e.g., projects that reduce sources of GHGs, such as through efficiency or other changes in consumption)

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Impact on Underrepresented Groups:

The work of the SUTO coalition has always been rooted in building collective power to push back against the fossil fuel industry. Since our founding, Tribal Nations, labor unions, and organizations led by communities of color have engaged in all aspects of our work. In each community where we work, we continue to invest resources in growing these partnerships and collaboratively creating long-term visions for cleaner, healthier, and more inclusive economic development. 

In support of our recent victories, one of the most effective strategies SUTO uses is growing local power by staying in communities even after stopping a large proposal. We have done that in each community that adopted local land use protections (Whatcom, Tacoma, and Vancouver). We continue to do this in communities that are fighting projects and facing new threats (including Anacortes, Portland, and Port Westward). 

Our coalition sees not only an opportunity but also an ethical responsibility to support voices of communities who have been historically excluded from the environmental sector and ensure they are represented in decision-making processes affecting their lives. We are committed to building authentic, non-transactional relationships with communities impacted by the systems and policies for which we advocate‚Äîand reckoning with the work of dismantling systems of inequality within our own coalition. This work is the necessary foundation for all progress we aim to achieve within a diverse and growing climate movement.

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Mission Statement:

Washington Conservation Action is the fiscal sponsor and campaign manager for The Stand Up To Oil (SUTO) Coalition. For nearly a decade, the coalition has been successfully protecting community health and safety against new and expanded fossil fuel infrastructure in the Pacific Northwest region.

Founded in 1967, Washington Conservation Action (WCA) has secured many of Washington‚ bedrock environmental protection laws and fought to preserve their integrity. Our mission is to develop, advocate, and defend policies that ensure environmental progress and justice by centering and amplifying the voices of the most impacted communities. In January 2023, Washington Conservation Voters and Washington Environmental Council unified under a shared brand‚ÄîWashington Conservation Action and Washington Conservation Action Education Fund. This evolution builds on our 50 years of work bringing people together to solve Washington‚ most critical environmental issues. The change will allow us to leverage both organizations‚ expertise to make transformative change in Washington.