This list of recent wins shows that together, we’ve made real and tangible progress toward protecting our food, water, and climate. Thank you for fighting like you live here!

Each achievement comes after months — and more often, years — of dedicated work powered by your passion for protecting the planet and the people you love. We’ve got much more work to do to secure a livable future, but these victories demonstrate that when we work together, we can accomplish so much! 

Milestones to Celebrate

Here are seven recent victories you made happen!

Together we:

• Successfully forced the Biden administration to pause new liquified natural gas (LNG) export approvals, including for the development of the Calcasieu Pass 2 (CP2) LNG export facility in Louisiana. If built, CP2 would have an enormous impact on global climate pollution — about 20 times that of the recently approved Willow oil drilling project in Alaska.
  
  This pause came after months of intense pressure from Food & Water Watch and our allies, which included a letter signed by 170 scientists and another signed by more than 230 climate, environmental justice, public health, faith, and community organizations, both urging the Biden Administration to reject CP2.
  
  While this is only a temporary pause in the U.S.’s LNG approvals, it is a step in the right direction. To truly protect our climate, we must continue urging the administration to stop LNG and all fossil fuel extraction for good. (January 2024)
  
• Pressured New Jersey Transit to cancel plans for a natural gas-powered backup power plant. This win comes after five years of persistent organizing! — and soon after another gas plant cancellation in Woodbridge, New Jersey, in October 2023.
  
  NJ Transit planned to build this plant in Kearny, New Jersey, a region where people already suffer from decades of industrial pollution. Food & Water Watch will build on the momentum of this win to stop the PVSC plant and other dirty projects throughout the state. (January 2024)
  
• Stopped Tampa Electric Co. in Florida from raising household utility rates — for now. Back in October 2023, Tampa Electric submitted a petition to the state to allow it to raise rates for households while keeping costs for its larger industrial customers steady. Household utility rates in the Tampa area have already risen 62% over the past five years.
  
  More than 100 residents wrote letters asking the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) — the state agency that oversees utility companies — to reject the request. This public opposition prompted Tampa Electric to withdraw its petition. 
  
  As of this writing, Tampa Electric has filed another request to PSC to raise rates. Food & Water Watch will continue to push back. (January 2024)

• Celebrated the start of New York City’s #GasFreeNYC law. As of January 1, all new buildings under seven stories built in New York City cannot burn fossil fuels for heat and hot water. New York is now the largest city in the country to pass a law requiring new buildings to be built with zero-emissions heating, ushering in a new era of climate-friendly construction.
  
  This gas ban victory came after 10 months of rallies, letters, calls, and actions, and showed the power of strong coalitions, grassroots organizing, and local communities coming together.
  
  A comprehensive statewide ban on fossil fuels in new construction will go into effect in 2026 for new buildings under seven stories, and in 2029 for all new buildings in New York State. (January 2024)

• Published a new research piece exposing Big Oil and Big Ag’s bet on the factory farm biogas boondoggle. The report, “The Big Oil and Big Ag Ponzi Scheme: Factory Farm Biogas,” shows how the country’s largest fossil fuel and agriculture companies are investing billions of dollars in the buildout of factory farm biogas. This elaborate and highly profitable greenwashing scheme encourages the expansion of factory farms and methane gas at the expense of the climate, environmental justice, and sustainable family farming. (January 2024)

• Compelled the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to propose new water pollution control standards for slaughterhouses and rendering facilities. Following lawsuits from Food & Water Watch and our allies, the EPA’s new rules could prevent at least 100 million pounds per year of water pollution by strengthening or imposing standards on just a fraction of the country’s approximately 5,000 slaughterhouses and rendering facilities. This is a positive step towards cleaning up one of the nation’s dirtiest industries. (December 2023)

• Canceled the massive Navigator carbon pipeline project in the Midwest. The Heartland Greenway was to be a 1,300-mile pipeline spanning parts of South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois. For years, we have fought intensely against this project with a broad coalition of grassroots groups, including farmers, landowners, and environmentalists raising questions about its feasibility and safety. This victory shows that when people come together, we can win! (October 2023)

Thank you for making these milestones possible!

You Can Build on These Victories Toward a Livable Future

Together, we’ve made great strides toward sustainable food, clean and affordable water, and a livable climate for all. If you’re curious about how your continued care and generosity will power progress this year, check out our top 10 priority campaigns for 2024. You can also read “Top Ten Victories of 2023” to see the incredible difference you made last year.