Our Strategic Focus

The Center for Progressive Reform harnesses the power of law and public policy to create a responsive government, a healthy environment, and a just society. The climate crisis, the weakening state of our governing institutions, and the deep need for racial justice call us to prioritize three strategic goals through 2024:

Demand bold and equitable government action in response to the climate crisis.

To avert environmental catastrophe, we’re pressing the Biden administration to live up to its pledge to enact and implement a whole-of-government climate agenda and accelerate a just and equitable transition to clean energy. We’re working to prevent and repair climate-induced harm to disenfranchised communities, redress societal inequities, and ensure that all people can fully participate in and benefit from our transition to a carbon-free economy. We’re pressing policymakers at the federal and state levels too, particularly in California, Virginia, Maryland, and Louisiana. Read more on CPRBlog.

Strengthen our regulatory system so it protects all people from climate harms.

Our regulatory system overvalues cost savings and undervalues life, health, and safety — and disenfranchised groups pay the steepest price. We’re pushing for a regulatory system that fully values human life and health, values all people equitably, and gives everyone meaningful opportunities to shape the policies that affect our lives. Doing so will shift undue power away from corporations and toward us, the people — and create a fairer, safer, and more just society as we respond to climate change. Read more on CPRBlog.

Protect people and the planet from the dangers of unregulated industry.

Our government’s “failure to protect” exposes workers to injury, illness, and death and communities to toxic pollution and other environmental harms — and the risks are rising as our climate changes. When disaster strikes, low-wealth people of color are hurt “first and worst” due to legacies of slavery and oppression, yet their needs are discounted in law and policy. We are elevating the voices of marginalized communities to ensure our government safeguards all lives, health, and well-being, redresses historic environmental racism, and prevents further harm as our climate changes. Read more on CPRBlog.