CLIMATE IS ON THE AGENDA

Washington, D.C. — The Democratic National Convention has put climate on the center stage. Yesterday, leaders like Sen. Bernie Sanders and First Lady Michelle Obama emphasized the opportunities to be gained from bold action on climate: creating millions of jobs, saving our future from certain destruction, and dismantling systemic racism.

Tonight’s theme is “Leadership Matters.”

Democrats are putting forward individuals who are leading the fight for bold climate action and addressing longstanding environmental justice issues, including former Sec. of State John Kerry, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Stacey Abrams, and Pennsylvania State Representative Malcolm Kenyatta.

On Tuesday, the Biden campaign announced four speakers are joining the lineup to underscore that to Democrats, this is a climate election. They include Alaskan veteran and fisherman Chuck Degnan, Sec. Hilda Solis and Rep. Barbara Lee, and Idaho Mayor Lauren McLean.

In addition to Rep. Kenyatta and Ms. Abrams, tonight’s Keynote will feature 15 young elected leaders from all over the country sharing their ideas and perspectives for addressing our country’s challenges. Younger voters, especially younger voters of color, are a key voting bloc, and bold action on climate is one the keys to motivating young people to turn out and vote up and down the ticket.

There is a reason for this intense focus on climate. The politics of climate have changed and Joe Biden needs climate voters to show up in November if he hopes to win the White House.

A July Climate Power 2020 poll found that voters, especially young and Latino voters, overwhelmingly support bold government action to combat climate change. These voters would vote for a Democrat who supports taking such action over a Republican who does not by 24 points, outpacing the standard generic ballot by 14 points.

Don’t Miss Karen Bass. Congresswoman Karen Bass, the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, filmed a video with Climate Power 2020 highlighting the alarming connection between climate change and the high rate of pollution in Black and Brown communities. Watch on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube.

Interested in Connecting with a Climate Expert? We have a number of political, climate, and environmental justice advocates and experts available to connect to discuss the importance of climate change in the 2020 elections and contrast the climate and environmental records of President Trump and those of Joe Biden and Sen. Harris. You can find a list of experts and activists here.

ICYMI

• Des Moines Register:Iowa’s derecho disaster declaration does not include aid for homeowners, farmers
  • “A federal major disaster declaration approved Monday does not include financial assistance for Iowans recovering from last week’s devastating derecho.”
• Washington Post, Energy 202: Democrats seek to spotlight climate change at convention despite coronavirus crisis
  • “Democrats will try to bring climate change to the fore during the party’s unconventional convention starting this week.”
• Los Angeles Times:Climate crisis or ‘hoax’: Where Trump and Biden stand on environmental policy
  • “Biden has promised to scrap all of Trump’s environmental rollbacks and set a firm deadline for moving the nation to net-zero emissions. For the former vice president, global warming is an era-defining challenge, and combating it is an economic opportunity.”
• Vox:Joe Biden’s plan to fix the world
  • “If Joe Biden wins in November, he will face a slew of global crises on the first day of his presidency — many of them caused or at least exacerbated by the presidency of Donald Trump. Climate change has only become more dire.”
  • “Biden’s team has made no secret of what the newly elected president would do in his first hours on the job. First, he would recommit the US to the Paris climate agreement. America’s participation in the accord ends on November 4, 2020 — the day after the election. The move to end US participation, initiated on November 4, 2019, fulfilled Trump’s campaign promise to withdraw from the pact even as US greenhouse gas emissions were rising, reversing years of decline.”
• Los Angeles Times:As a heatwave bakes California, are more record temperatures, fires, ‘tornadoes’, and other extremes to come? 
  • “As one of the worst heat waves in years continues to broil California, millions are experiencing the havoc that ensues with extreme weather that is growing more frequent with climate change. Warmer nights, in particular, have the imprint of global warming, scientists say, and offer a glimpse into California’s future as greenhouse gas emissions gradually heat the planet.”