Image: Thousands of demonstrators marched across the Memorial Bridge             
  from Arlington, Virginia, into Washington, D.C. during the nationwide             
  "No Kings" day of action on 3-28-26; (Ken Cedeno/AFP/Getty Images).

Our "Early Summer" fundraiser began on July 3rd, and will end on Monday, July 13, at 11:59 pm. Please help Climate First! with its campaigning, office rent, travel costs, among other things, by giving generously during its eleven day fundraiser. 

   Image: Climate First! participated in the Memorial      
   Bridge March to DC; 3-28-26.

In President Trump's final term in office, he and his allies in the federal government have continued with their aggressive efforts to promote the rapid growth of fossil fuel use, while doing everything in their power (and beyond) to trash anything related to renewable energy. Their behaviors have shown that they will do almost anything to give oil and gas companies--and even some coal producers--the upper hand so they can continue to make their massive profits, while climate-amplified natural disasters, including heatwaves, alarmingly grow in number and ferocity.   

In its work, Climate First! will continue to oppose the anti-democratic actions of the administration, as we understand that with an increasingly authoritarian government in power, it will likely be impossible to save the climate. And, of course, we will keep on working to protect the climate by encouraging the large climate-polluting U.S. banks to reduce their massive investing in fossil fuels. In some sense, we would be offsetting the increase in climate emissions caused by the administration's mindless dismantling of the country's climate and environmental protections. To accomplish the above, Climate First! will continue its longstanding work with Stop the Money Pipeline (STMP), a coalition that was formed in 2020, and has now grown to over 200 groups nationwide. In addition, we have recently begun participating--in large part due to Trump's return to power in 2025--in political advocacy.   

Regarding campaigns, Climate First! has put a lot of effort into STMP's "Well Fargo: Be a Better Bank" crusade where we are working to punish Wells Fargo--a major climate-polluting bank--for dropping its climate goals, among other things. If you haven't already signed the campaign's petition, please consider doing so. Interestingly, a major part of our work in the campaign involves attempting to unionize Wells Fargo bank branches around the country. Until recently, the large U.S. banks have not had to deal with the unionization issue. 

     Image: Climate First!'s director,
     before entering a Wells Fargo
     branch to drop off union
     information to the bank's
    employees; 5-4-26.

Climate First! continues its long-term involvement with the "Costco: Cleanup Your Credit Card" campaign. In the Costco campaign, activists are encouraging Costco--an extremely popular retailer--to request that its credit card provider--Citibank--fully support clean energy by moving to end its massive investing in fossil fuels. And if Citi doesn't do so, Costco should strongly consider replacing the lender with another financial institution. And there's some good news in this campaign. Costco activists may have more leverage in their effort since a recently released STMP report called "Better Options" shows that there are numerous alternative credit card providers that invest much less of their monies in oil and gas projects than Citibank. If you want to help win this campaign--review these easy actions here, including signing the Costco petition.  

     Image: Climate First! activists 
     have finished petitioning
     at a Costco Warehouse in
     Wheaton, MD; 11-16-25.

Finally, we recently joined the campaign to encourage federal legislators to hold Elon Musk and his organization, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), accountable for any harm they caused while operating in the administration. During their tenure, Musk and DOGE employees engaged in many unethical actions, including some that may well have been illegal under federal law. And its most unconscionable action likely occurred when DOGE shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). A former assistant administrator for global health at USAID, under President Biden, said that when the agency was dismantled, hundreds of thousands of people overseas died due to infectious diseases and malnutrition. Here is one final petition involving the "Hold DOGE Accountable" campaign, that you can sign.   

    Image: The head of the Hold DOGE Accountable, 
    Campaign, an activist, and Climate First!'s director   
    together met with a staff member from U.S. Rep.
    Jamie Raskin's (D-MD) office on Capitol Hill; 6-11-26.

In close, our Early Summer fundraiser will continue until EOD, Monday, July 13, 2026. Since Climate First! will likely be busier than ever taking on new climate work, we hope that you can make a financial gift. If you have questions or concerns, contact us at [email protected].