Although climate change remains a polarizing issue, research shows that a majority of Americans want the government to act more aggressively on climate issues.
So how do you elect political candidates who will make the issue a priority? In this episode of Political Climate, we speak to two groups attempting to figure that out and putting climate change at the center of races up and down the ballot.
In 2018, Caroline Spears launched the Climate Cabinet Action Fund to offer targeted climate data, policy ideas and messaging suggestions to candidates and lawmakers. The organization currently focuses on the state level, where races are low-budget but highly consequential. We speak to Caroline about the policy “menus” that Climate Cabinet creates for individual candidates and dig into the role that special interests play in the election infrastructure of both the Republican and Democratic parties.
Later in the show, we turn to Karyn Strickler, founder and president of Vote Climate U.S. PAC, a political action committee tracking key races in the U.S. House and Senate and ranking candidates based on their climate record.
Recommended reading:
- CNN: New Climate Group Will Offer District-Specific Policy 'Menus' to Every Congressional Candidate
- GTM: Virginia Mandates 100% Clean Power by 2045
- Pew Research: How Important Is Climate Change to Voters in the 2020 Election?
- Climate Cabinet: The Divided States Of Climate Action
- Vote Climate U.S. PAC: 2020 Climate Change Voter’s Guide
Listen and subscribe to Political Climate on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts. This episode is brought to you with support from Lyft. Follow us on Twitter at @Poli_Climate.