CLIMATE POWER LAUNCHES MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR NATIONAL TV AD BUY ON THE URGENT NEED TO INVEST IN CLEAN ENERGY JOBS

The Great American Build Campaign Highlights Immediate Need to Meet the Moment and Build Back Better With Clean Energy and Infrastructure

Washington, D.C. – As President Biden speaks tomorrow in Pittsburgh, the Great American Build, a campaign from Climate Power, the League of Conservation Voters, and Potential Energy Coalition, will launch a $2 million national television ad buy for its “Calling All Builders” spot, which is already airing in the D.C.-area. In addition, the campaign has also launched outdoor advertising in Washington, D.C. and will soon be announcing a new digital advertising campaign in key states.

“All across the country, voters from both parties are looking to our elected officials to make big, bold and immediate investments in clean energy and infrastructure in order to power the economic recovery, create millions of jobs, and combat climate change,” said Climate Power executive director Lori Lodes. “Supermajorities of voters already support President Biden’s Build Back Better plan, and we believe that support for these transformational investments will only continue to grow. The time to act is right now.”

The Great American Build kicked off earlier this month with the backing of climate and environmental organizations, racial justice organizations, organized labor, progressive groups, and leaders from across the country, including Governors Gretchen Whitmer, Steve Sisolak, Tony Evers, and Michelle Lujan Grisham. Through this new ad buy, the Great American Build is taking its call for big, bold, and immediate investments in clean energy and infrastructure to a national audience.

Yesterday, Climate Power advisory board member John Podesta released a memo calling on Congress to go big, bold, and quickly on clean energy and infrastructure investments:

President Biden understands the need to go big, go bold, and to go right now. His plan to build back better with a reported $3 trillion in investments in human and physical infrastructure, including our country’s largest-ever investment in combating climate change is just what the economy – and the climate – needs. The investment in clean energy jobs and climate change alone could reportedly top $2 trillion. The scale and scope of these investments is what voters want and what our economy and our climate demand. Congress must now act without delay and invest in jobs, clean energy – and the American people. […]

Investing in clean energy and infrastructure is the best, fastest, and most effective way to put people to work and address the climate crisis. Clean energy is the fastest growing industry in America and, with the right policies, provides a huge opportunity to build back better with high-quality, union jobs that help rebuild the middle class. Before the pandemic hit, clean energy jobs employed nearly 3.4 million workers in the U.S., three times as many workers as employed by the fossil fuel industry. 

We also have no time to waste when it comes to the climate crisis. This is our climate moment. The science is unforgiving and the window to act is narrowing. If we don’t immediately take advantage of the political and economic opportunities before us, we may never have another chance. 

New polling from Data for Progress in partnership with Climate Power released Sunday, March 28 found overwhelming public demand for big, bold, and equitable investments in clean energy and infrastructure:

• Over two-thirds of voters (67 percent) say the federal government should be doing more to modernize American infrastructure;
• Over three-quarters of voters (77 percent) say Congress should be doing more to help America fully recover from the pandemic;
• A majority of voters (73 percent) say it is time for Congress to make a long-overdue investment in American infrastructure;
• A supermajority of Democrats, independents, and Republicans all support President Biden’s Build Back Better plan;
• Over two-thirds of voters (70 percent) are more likely to support the Build Back Better plan if it includes provisions to prioritize oil and gas workers for new clean energy jobs that have fair labor standards and the opportunity to unionize;
• A majority of voters (63 percent) are more likely to support the Build Back Better plan if 40% of investments go to low-income communities, communities of color, and other disadvantaged communities; and
• Over two-thirds of voters (68 percent) agree ambitious investments will make our nation stronger, more sustainable, and more equitable than ever before.