Biden’s Moment to Win Over Climate Voters

Washington, D.C. – Climate action was front and center at the Democratic Convention again last night. A record number of speakers, including everyone from young climate activists and Billie Eilish to a union worker from Pennsylvania and former Labor Sec. Hilda Solis, to a farmer from Wisconsin and leaders like New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Speaker Pelosi, and Hillary Clinton, all raised the alarm about the need to take bold action on climate.

Tonight’s theme is “America’s Promise.” This is the big night for Democrats to show they have a plan to live up to that promise and take bold action to combat the climate crisis.

Tonight’s programming includes remarks from Sen. Cory Booker, Andrew Yang, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, and Sen. Tammy Duckworth, climate champions who will highlight Joe Biden’s plan to protect our communities from the worst effects of climate change while transforming our economy, creating millions of jobs, and addressing environmental justice issues.

At the top of the ticket, Joe Biden has laid out a bold plan for transformational investments in combating climate change and building clean energy infrastructure.

And that’s just good politics. A whopping 71 percent of voters favor bold governmental action on climate change, while only 19 percent oppose it.

Recent polls across key presidential and Senate battlegrounds – Arizona, Iowa, Maine, and North Carolina – showed majority support for the Biden plan to invest $2 trillion in clean energy over four years and create millions of jobs. Supporting bold action in climate could put Joe Biden in the White House and give him a pro-climate Senate to put his plan into action.

As Joe Biden takes the stage tonight to lay out his vision, the contrast with the policies of the current occupant of the White House could not be more apparent. Whether it is communities of color being left to bear the brunt of this crisis without clean air and water, or ignoring the advice of health and science experts to fight the Coronavirus pandemic – and climate change, Donald Trump’s anti-science agenda has failed us.

Interested in Connecting with a Political Expert or Activist? 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

• Vox: 5 winners and 2 losers from night 3 of the Democratic convention
  • “The first half-hour of Wednesday’s presentation was dominated by two issues: gun violence and climate change. In both sections, young Americans took center stage in the Democratic Party’s presentation.”

• Washington Post: Kamala Harris makes history as first woman of color to accept a major party nomination for vice president
  • “Democrats on Wednesday night made an emotional appeal to voters, touting policies and beliefs on climate, immigration and guns — and distinctively separating themselves from the man in the White House: President Trump.”

• Grist: The DNC virtual roll call was also a cry for climate action
  • “The roll call was yet another indicator of how Biden has tethered his climate goals to a larger “build back better” agenda, promising to create millions of jobs while transitioning the U.S. toward clean energy. According to polling, the economy, health care, and COVID-19 top the list of policy priorities for moderate Democratic voters, although climate change is a top concern for more left-leaning Democrats. It also provided a rare focus on climate and energy during a convention that has overwhelmingly focused on other issues.”

• The Washington Post: The Energy 202: Trump team up against the clock to sell Arctic drilling rights by Inauguration Day
  • “Climate change is impacting us now, and it’s robbing my generation of a future,” Villaseñor said. “For young people my age, every aspect of our lives from where we go to school, to what kinds of careers we have, to whether or not we can raise a family depends on us taking climate change seriously now.”