I know the challenges we face can seem daunting. But we’ve gained real traction this year thanks to the outstanding support of people like you.

I wanted to take a moment to share the victories that meant the most to me this year, and thank you for making them possible:

• Ending palm oil deforestation. With unprecedented support from UCS members, we convinced corporate giants, including General Mills, The Hershey Company, Kellogg’s, Dunkin’ Brands, Colgate-Palmolive, and Procter & Gamble to use deforestation-free palm oil in their products—all in the last few months. UCS supporters sent a remarkable 753,000 letters urging some of the world’s biggest brands to change their palm oil practices and help stop tropical deforestation, which accounts for about 10 percent of the world’s global warming emissions. In the New Year, we’ll build on this momentum to pressure the remaining companies to follow suit.
• Clearing the air of dangerous pollution. We won a hard-earned victory this spring when the Obama administration finalized a plan to clean up gasoline and reduce harmful air pollution from passenger vehicles.
• Beating back attacks on renewable energy. We sent our experts to lead coalitions and provide game-changing technical analysis to campaigns in key states, including Michigan and Minnesota, where we succeeded in galvanizing support for clean energy policies. Why focus so much on individual states? Because the Environmental Protection Agency’s new limits on global warming emissions from power plants hinge on how aggressive states are at achieving pollution reductions. Success in the states is the key to deeper reductions in global warming emissions across the United States.

With your partnership, we’re making measurable progress toward a healthy and safer world by insisting that science informs the critical decisions made every day by lawmakers, executives, businesses, and consumers. While the political landscape presents more difficult terrain, we’re energized for the year ahead with concrete plans to navigate the challenges and make progress.

On behalf of the UCS board and staff, thanks for your generous support, and best wishes this holiday season.

Sincerely, Ken Kimmell President Union of Concerned Scientists