Earthjustice Taps Adrian Martinez as Director of the Right To Zero Campaign

Earthjustice announced today it will tap Adrian Martinez as the director of the organization’s innovative Right To Zero campaign designed to drive city, state, and regional action to electrify the transportation, building, and industrial sectors. Altogether, combustion in these sectors are responsible for the lion’s share of air pollution and climate pollution in the U.S.

As director of the Right To Zero campaign, Mr. Martinez will guide and support the campaign’s electrifying work, which includes work in California, New York, and the DMV region, as well as expansion into new cities and states. Mr. Martinez will be transitioning from his role as deputy managing attorney of Earthjustice’s California office, where he worked for years tackling CA’s air pollution crisis.

“While the Trump administration tries to eliminate clean air protections and clean energy investments, Earthjustice’s work in cities and states to shift to zero-emission solutions is more critical than ever,” said Jill Tauber, Vice President of Climate and Energy at Earthjustice. “We are so fortunate to have Adrian Martinez spearhead the Right To Zero campaign. His immense skills as a legal expert and advocate will help us charge ahead toward an electric future — despite the headwinds. We also have deep gratitude for our inaugural Right to Zero Director, Paul Cort, who has been a visionary leader in spurring local and state action to electrify everything.”

Based in Los Angeles, Mr. Martinez has been a leader in clean air policies for two decades and has led some of Right To Zero’s pivotal transportation campaigns, including work to electrify the U.S. Postal Service’s new mail truck fleet, advocate for $1 billion in vehicle charging infrastructure in California, and electrify massive warehouses in Southern California’s sprawling goods movement system.

“The only way to clean our air is to electrify everything — squinting through the smog and the political games played by oil and gas companies, that’s the truth for how we solve our air pollution crisis,” said Adrian Martinez, director of Earthjustice’s Right To Zero campaign. “There’s never been a more pressing time for cities and states to step up to the plate and protect their health, their air quality, and their future. Our campaign was built for this moment, and we are eager for the work ahead of us.”

Paul Cort, who oversaw the launch of Right To Zero and has led the campaign for eight years, is retiring after dedicating his career to clean air and a zero-emissions future in the United States.