Navigating the Path to a Fossil-Free Future: Climate Dinner Takeaways
Lessons from our dinner on electrification, community, and making climate action personal, plus a link to register for our next dinner on 4/8!
Last week, we gathered 45 young professionals at Saluhall for our second Climate Action Club dinner—and the energy in the room was electric (literally and figuratively)!! Our discussion centered on Berkeley’s rejected natural gas tax last fall, a case study in the challenges of local climate policy. The takeaway? Phasing out fossil fuels at the city level is complicated. Move too fast, and you risk financial strain, political backlash, and infrastructure gaps. Move too slow, and you lock in fossil fuel dependence. Finding the right balance requires thoughtful incentives, clear communication, and community engagement.
But the real story of the night wasn’t about policy—it was about people. What we’re building with Climate Action Club isn’t just another climate event series; it’s a space where meaningful connections spark real action. Here’s what we’re learning about how to foster a community that drives impact:
🔗 Give people a way to engage. It’s easy to feel like an outsider in a new space, which is why we’re experimenting with ways to get people talking—whether that’s pairing attendees for discussion, grouping people by shared interests, or encouraging small actions that make participation easy.
🔥 Keep the momentum going. One dinner is great, but real relationships (and real action) happen when people continue showing up (and doing so regularly). That’s why we’re excited to continue maintaining the cadence of bi-weekly events (at the very least!), so that Climate Action Club continues growing into a thriving network where ideas and connections build over time.
💡 Create a space for people to show up as themselves. Too often, networking feels transactional—people lead with their resumes instead of who they are and what they actually care about. We’re intentionally fostering an environment where folks can be authentic, curious, open to building real relationships with amazing, likeminded people.
At the end of the night, the biggest takeaway wasn’t about electrification—it was about the power of bringing the right people together. <3
Join Us for Our Next Dinner!
The conversation doesn’t stop here. Our next Climate Action Club dinner is on April 8th at 6pm! We’ll be testing new ways to deepen connections and keep the energy going.
🔗Sign up here.
Climate Action Recs
Favorites from the community:
🎧 Podcast: Moving from Naive to Authentic Progress: A Vision for Betterment (3.5 hr but sooo good!!)
📖 Book: The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History
📺 Video: We're Wrong About AI - Will Alpine (5min)
Job Board
The latest early- to mid-level career opportunities across the climate space.
Full-time
Founder’s Associate at Aepnus Technologies ($105,000-$135,000, Oakland CA)
Strategic Finance Analyst / Manager at Lunar Energy ($125,000, $160,000, Mountain View CA)
Communications Manager at the City of Boston’s Environment, Energy, and Open Space Cabinet ($68,000-$94,000, Boston)
Building Decarbonization Project Manager at the City of Boston’s Environment, Energy and Open Space Cabinet ($68,000-$94,000, Boston)
Technical Solutions Associate at Treehouse ($60,000-$80,000, Chicago)
Energy Policy Analyst at NC Clean Energy Technology Center (Raleigh NC)
Chief of Staff at Tyba ($140,000-$190,000, Oakland CA)
Clean Transportation Specialist at SF Environment Department ($103,000-$125,000, SF)
Decarbonization Analyst at City of New York ($85,000-$95,000, NYC)
Growth Equity Analyst at Congruent Ventures (SF)
Sustainability Intelligence Analyst (Contractor) at Salesforce (SF/Seattle/NYC)
Project Manager at Grounded Foundation ($5k-$10k/month, full-time or part-time contractor, remote/LA/NYC)
Part-time
Commercialization Operations Summer Intern at Mars Materials (Houston TX) - Due March 28, 5pm CT
Municipal Electrification Program Summer Intern at Peninsula Clean Energy ($25-35/h, Redwood City CA)
Summer Graduate Growth Intern at Elephant Energy ($30/h, remote)
Food Policy Intern at Friends of the Earth (Part-time, $19/h, DC/remote)
Business Strategy Summer Intern at Factorial (Billerica MA)
Government Relations Summer Intern at Activate (Bay Area/Boston/NYC/Houston/remote)
Mechanical Engineering Design Intern at Bloom Energy ($34.50-$37.50/h, San Jose)