Coble retires from environmental advocacy after 30 years

After three decades in Maryland environmental politics, Kim Coble revealed Thursday that she will be retiring from her role as executive director of the Maryland League of Conservation Voters.

Coble has led the environmental nonprofit for the last seven years, a consequential period that included the passage of Maryland’s signature climate law, the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022.

But Coble’s time in local environmental advocacy began in 1993, when she joined the Chesapeake Bay Foundation as Virginia senior scientist. She moved to Maryland in 1996, and rose up the ranks to become vice president of the organization.

“I will be forever grateful for that opportunity — to be able to be paid for what I believe in,” Coble said in an interview Friday. “Not many people can say that. But I have, and I’m deeply moved and deeply grateful for that.”

Coble said she plans to remain with the organization through mid-October, while the nonprofit’s board searches for her replacement. In retirement, she said she’s eager to spend time with family and at her property in the Adirondack Mountains.

“I’m going to look forward to having a slow cup of coffee in the morning,” she said.

Her fondest memories on the job include working on not only the Climate Solutions bill, but 2004’s establishment of the Bay Restoration Fund, which created a massive fund for upgrading wastewater treatment plants so that they would discharge less harmful pollutants into the Chesapeake Bay, by taxing households and businesses that use the facilities.

“Since that bill passed, every major sewage treatment plan has gone through an upgrade,” Coble said. “The improvement in the Chesapeake Bay from that bill alone is really phenomenal, and I’m very proud of that work.”

But she will depart LCV at a challenging moment for climate advocates in Maryland. The state is not on pace to meet its greenhouse gas reduction requirement for 2031. The law requires a 60% reduction, compared to 2006 levels, but data from January indicates that the policies currently on the books would only reduce the state’s emissions 42%.

The rise of AI data centers has ballooned energy bills, and this year, state lawmakers decided to cut back on Maryland’s energy efficiency program to lower consumers’ fees. Conversations abound about reopening shuttered fossil fuel plants or building new natural gas generation to feed the explosive energy demand.

“It is not an either-or. It is not well, we’ve got to save money on energy bills, or we’re going to have to have clean energy. They are hand in glove,” Coble said. “The most important priority for the next executive director is to get legislators and leaders and voters and business owners to understand that.”

President Donald Trump’s (R) return to office has also been a blow for environmental groups, as the president’s administration pulls back investment on renewable energy and electric vehicles, and works to slow down offshore wind in favor of coal and natural gas.

The organization is also receiving fewer donations, with many would-be donors distracted by fights in the national political arena, Coble said.

“As we work on the 2026 elections in Maryland, we’re finding that people have said, ‘Look, I’m donating to this candidate or that candidate in a different state.’ So, fundraising remains a challenge for us,” she said.

But, overall, during Coble’s tenure, the organization grew, from six staff members to 14 and from an operating budget of about $700,000 to about $2.5 million, Coble said.

“Every person who breathes Maryland’s healthy air, enjoys our clean waters, or relaxes in our vibrant public spaces owes a debt of gratitude to Kim Coble,” said Maryland League of Conservation Voters Education Fund Chairwoman Kitty Thomas in a news release from the organization. “Maryland is a healthier place because of her.”