Biography
Bruce Nilles is a visionary leader in the fight against climate change, renowned for his transformative work in transitioning the United States away from coal and towards clean energy.
Bruce’s journey began long before his tenure at the Sierra Club. As a staff attorney at Earthjustice, he fought to improve air quality in California’s Central Valley through litigation and advocacy, leading to settlements that enforced stronger clean air regulations. His legal prowess was further honed during his time at the US Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, where he prosecuted landmark cases that resulted in the cleanup of over 10,000 high-risk housing units, protecting countless children from the dangers of lead paint.
With a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Wisconsin, Bruce graduated in the top 10% of his class and served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Environmental Law Journal. His numerous accolades include recognition by Politico as “one of the thinkers, doers, and visionaries transforming American politics” in 2015, and Grist’s Eco-Hero of the Year award in 2008 for his role in building a nationwide movement against coal.
As the founder and lead strategist of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign, Bruce led efforts that ultimately secured the retirement of over half the US coal fleet. Despite the initial skepticism surrounding his ambitious goal to challenge the 150 new proposed coal-fired power plants in America in the early 2000s, Bruce’s visionary leadership and strategic acumen turned the tide, making him a global pioneer in the movement away from coal.
Breakthrough Program
Bruce Nilles was selected for the Climate Breakthrough Award program in 2018.
The US has a gas problem in buildings. Unlike coal use which is declining, gas use in buildings is stubbornly rising. Bruce wants to align climate advocates, policymakers, funders, and corporations around a transformative vision to transition American homes and commercial buildings away from fossil fuels and towards efficient electric systems powered by renewable energy sources. This approach is aiming to rebrand gas as the new coal, therefore driving public perception and policy change. It will push for progressive policies like bans on gas hookups in new buildings, consequently paving the way for a large-scale shift towards electric buildings. Electrifying US buildings offers a double win: significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions and safeguarding public health with cleaner indoor air.
For this work, Bruce launched the Building Electrification program at the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI).
Soon, the program provided key support to the City of Berkeley to become the first in the US to ban gas in new buildings. “Building a new all-electric home powered by heat pumps is already cheaper than building with gas because you avoid the costs of gas lines and ventilation,” he said in a 2019 opinion piece in The New York Times.
The landmark ban in Berkeley inspired dozens of other cities in California to follow suit, demonstrating the power of Bruce’s vision in creating a domino effect of change. His efforts have catalyzed a national movement towards electrification, positioning him as a leading force in the fight for a sustainable future.
The significant funding from Climate Breakthrough was critical to being able to scale a campaign that has now helped inspire a movement that is now calling for an end to all fossil fuels in our buildings.
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Post Breakthrough Program
In 2021 before completing his tenure, Bruce was tapped to lead Climate Imperative, an initiative that seeks to provide funding, technical support, and expertise to inform the most important climate policy decisions in major emitting countries around the world.
While Bruce left RMI and his Building Electrification program to pursue this new opportunity in climate action, the team at RMI has continued to carry forward the work. As of 2022, the team reported that seven states and 66 cities have building electrification policies in place, and nine states have adopted a ban on gas in new buildings.