Prairie Rivers Network supports solutions that ensure that justice and equity are at the heart of Illinois’ clean energy future. The growing clean energy economy is about more than just fighting climate change. It is an opportunity for a just transition, to expand equitable access to public health, a safe environment, and quality jobs and economic opportunity, especially for economically disadvantaged communities, communities of color, environmental justice communities, and communities that will be hit the hardest by the changing energy economy and by climate change.
Prairie Rivers Network believes that Illinois’ energy policy must center on racial and socioeconomic equity while ensuring that Illinois is on track to achieve 100% renewable energy by 2050. For too long, Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) and low income communities have been disproportionately harmed from our energy policies while being denied the benefits of those policies. Our work, as part of the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, is to ensure that historically disadvantaged and under-resourced communities get real access to and benefit from Illinois’ burgeoning clean energy economy. Similarly, our energy policy must ensure a just transition for Illinois’ energy workers and the communities that depend upon fossil fuels like coal and gas.
The fossil fuel industry in Illinois has polluted our water and damaged our farmland, forests, and rivers. Impacts do not end with the land and water; our rural communities are also being destroyed as increasingly destructive mining techniques are used to extract coal at any cost, our community health is threatened by the polluted air and water, and our planet is pushed to the brink by carbon emissions.
Illinois has over 80 coal ash ponds and mine-fills that leach toxic chemicals into groundwater, lakes, and rivers, where pollution can spread, polluting drinking water supplies and threatening fish and wildlife. Even the “cleanest” coal-burning electricity generates waste that can pose a threat to our drinking water. The state’s regulatory agencies have not held the coal industry accountable, and the public has been left out of the process.
As the fossil fuel economy wanes, Prairie Rivers Network is fighting to ensure that industry’s pollution is cleaned up before it goes and that communities aren’t left behind in the process. We envision a just transition for fossil fuel communities and workers, where a clean environment is paired with an economic transition to new economies.
You can read more about our energy work in our priority areas below:
Climate & Energy Priorities
Energy Democracy
Rural electric cooperatives (co-ops) serve the critical electricity needs of rural Illinoisans....
Illinois’ efforts to transition to a clean energy economy should also include support...
