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CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENT GROUPS ON TRACK TO SPEND MORE THAN $20 MILLION SINCE AUGUST RECESS AS KEY CLIMATE VOTES APPROACH

September 30, 2021

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limate Action Campaign, Climate Power, Climate Reality Action Fund, EDF/EDF Action, Evergreen Action, LCV, and NRDC Action Fund Ramp Up Spending in Key Districts

Washington, D.C. — Amidst the legislative discussions between the White House and Capitol Hill, leading climate groups have come together at this moment to blanket airwaves and screens. Their message is simple. This is it. It’s code red, and the last best opportunity to meet the moment is by passing a Build Back Better Act that will reduce costs, generate clean energy jobs, create a more just and equitable economy while slashing pollution. 

The groups, including Climate Action Campaign, Climate Power, Climate Reality Action Fund, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) EDF Action, Evergreen Action, LCV, and NRDC Action Fund, are encouraging lawmakers to seize the opportunity with a total of more than $20 million in spending since the end of the August recess and through the next few crucial weeks. Ads from different groups will be seen in key Congressional districts, states, and in Washington, D.C. as the final stretch approaches to make the case that climate investments need to be passed and they need to be passed in the Build Back Better Act. 

For LCV and Climate Power, $4 million in new spending announced earlier this week will go to new TV ads in LCV’s name in the districts of Rep. Stephanie Murphy (FL-07), Rep. Josh Harder (CA-10), Rep. Kathleen Rice (NY-04), and Rep. Scott Peters (CA-52), and new innovation-focused digital ads in the districts of Rep. Sharice Davids (KS-03), Rep. Haley Stevens (MI-11), Rep. Angie Craig (MN-02), and Rep. Steven Horsford (NV-04), in addition to boosting previously announced ads on the air and online in more than 20 key districts. This comes on top of $9 million in previously planned spending during this period and another $20 million spent in late summer making the case for bold climate action in the Build Back Better package.

The NRDC Action Fund is spending over $500,000 on ads focusing on Reps. Elissa Slotkin (MI-O8), Abigail Spanberger (VA-07), Elaine Luria (VA-02), and Andy Kim (NJ-03). EDF and EDF Action are spending $2.5 million, including $500,000 million in new spending, on a TV ad campaign urging Reps. Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07), Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15), Henry Cuellar (TX-28), and Filemon Vela (TX-34) to support bold climate solutions through investments in infrastructure like helping to fix the electrical grid and creating good paying clean energy jobs.

House Districts where ads are running include: 

These ads are falling on friendly ears. New polling from Hart Research’s Geoff Garin found that 58% of voters polled across 24 battleground House districts support the investments of the Build Back Better Act. After hearing a description of the bill, 54% of voters say Congress should either keep the cost at the current proposed level or increase the cost so the legislation can do more, and 63% say that addressing climate change should be an important priority for the legislation. This comes after previous statewide polls in AZ, CO, GA, NV, and NH found that the bill was strongly supported by voters in those states, 59% of whom agreed that Congress should either keep the cost at the current proposed level or increase the cost so the legislation can do more. 

Climate Power, LCV, and 18 other  national environmental, public health, and climate advocacy groups released the ‘Climate Test’ laying out the investments needed in the Build Back Better Act to put the U.S. on track to cut carbon emissions in half by 2030, the goal that President Biden set and science and justice require.