Giving Compass' Take:

• The Honorable Raúl Grijalva, Mark Magaña, and Chase Huntley discuss the promise of using public lands in the U.S. to address climate change. 

• What role can funders play in encouraging climate action from the public and private sectors? 

• Read about accelerating progress against climate change. 

Constituting nearly one-third of the land mass of the U.S., America’s public lands and the communities who rely on them are at the forefront of the climate crisis. Current management of these lands, prioritizing fossil fuel development, has made them a significant contributor to the U.S. climate change problem – almost a quarter of the nation’s emissions comes from coal, oil and gas produced on public lands and waters, the extraction and pollution of which disproportionately impacts indigenous communities and communities of color. But these lands are supposed to be managed in the public interest and have the potential to play an even bigger role in climate solutions – as a natural tool to reduce such dangerous climate emissions, as a network of large landscapes to protect clean air, water and wildlife, and as a foundation for building resilient communities.

Read the full article about public lands at The Aspen Institute.