Data for Climate Progress 10.21 - The Home Stretch
Welcome back to the Data for Climate Progress Newsletter, your bi-weekly update on new research, blog posts and memes from the Data for Progress climate team: Julian Brave NoiseCat, Marcela Mulholland and Danielle Deiseroth.
What We’re Watching
Biden, be more like the Lakers.
In both debates, Biden and Harris played defense on climate change. Biden insisted “the Green New Deal is not my plan” while Harris emphatically reminded voters that “Joe Biden will not ban fracking.” Our polling shows climate isn’t the sort of issue where Democrats need to play defense. Team Blue should take a cue from L.A. Lakers forward Anthony Davis and play both stellar defense and offense on climate change and clean energy. We’ve been testing Biden’s climate plan since he debuted it in July, and time and time again voters have shown strong support for it, consistently picking Biden and Democrats’ approach over Trump and Republicans’.
Don’t forget the Senate!
To pass climate legislation, we need Democrats to take the Senate. Our polling shows the upper chamber is well within reach and that climate is a winning issue. Voters in key senate battleground states like Arizona, Iowa, Maine and North Carolina support Biden’s climate agenda and are more likely to vote for candidates that prioritize climate on day 1.
Said it before, we’ll say it again: Personnel is policy.
As we get closer to election day, it’s time to start seriously thinking about who should staff a Biden administration. For months, we have been advocating for progressive climate champions to join the Biden administration with our Progressive Cabinet Project.
The recently released Biden-Harris Transition Team Ethics Plan marks a step in the right direction on this front. The plan explicitly says "In addition to instituting a robust code of ethical conduct, Vice President Biden aims to ensure that those who serve are aligned with his values and policy priorities, and have not, for example, been leaders at fossil fuel or private prison companies." (Important to note this is only for the transition team not for the administration.)
Our polling shows that 49% of voters would be opposed to industry representatives receiving appointments to government agencies and the White House.
Polling
Democrats, stop indulging the sideshow of a fracking debate!
In a new article for the Nation, Julian and Danielle discuss why Joe Biden and Kamala Harris should stop talking about how much they don’t want to ban fracking, and instead focus on promoting their ambitious clean energy investment plan.
Nationwide support for a fracking ban dropped seven points after the first presidential and vice presidential debates, while support remained relatively unchanged for a 2035 clean electricity standard and a $2 trillion clean energy infrastructure investment.
Among Democrats, support for a fracking ban dropped 16 points (from 65 to 49 percent), while support for a $2 trillion clean energy infrastructure investment grew a modest five points and support for a 2035 clean electricity standard was unchanged.
Achieving a 100% clean electricity grid is popular among voters in battleground Senate states.
As part of our 2020 Senate Project with Indivisible, we asked voters in battleground states if they support or oppose federal investments to achieve a 100% carbon pollution-free electricity sector by 2035.
Voters all across this country—even in states like Iowa, Kentucky, and Montana—express high levels of support for a clean electricity standard.
Amy Coney Barrett might not believe the science when it comes to climate change, but voters think the Supreme Court should uphold precedent on the issue.
In a September poll, Data for Progress asked voters whether they agreed or disagreed with the ruling of Massachusetts v. EPA, a key Supreme Court decision that determined the EPA can regulate carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping greenhouse gases as pollutants under the Clean Air Act.
A majority of voters (70%), including a majority of voters who self-identify as Democrats (78%), Independents (63%), and Republicans (65%) all agree the Clean Air Act gives the EPA authority to regulate emissions.
Policy
Down-ballot candidates for the win!
To mitigate and adapt to climate change we need allies at all levels of government. We partnered with Lead Locally to identify thirteen local races with significant implications for climate policy. Support the candidates here.
Danielle recently joined Sister District and the Climate Cabinet Action Fund to help fundraise for the Climate Cabinet 40, the top 40 “highest climate impact” state legislature races of this election cycle. You can check out the candidates and donate to the Action Fund here.
Equity mapping
In a new policy memo, Designing a New National Equity Mapping Program: Identifying Communities That Face Environmental Injustice, Using Lessons Learned from State Mapping Programs, our friends at Evergreen Action outline considerations and approaches to improve and expand equity mapping to inform federal policymakers and ensure efficient and effective investments in communities on the front lines of poverty, pollution and climate change. Data for Progress assessed voters’ concerns about the impacts of pollution, inequality and climate change on their own lives as well as support for several policies and approaches Evergreen Action addresses in this memo. Read our polling memo here and stay tuned for more writing from us on this front.
Cross-Cutting Issues
Election Integrity Project
This year’s election is unlike any we’ve seen before. With Trump already sowing seeds of doubt about the validity of the results and an unprecedented number of people voting by mail, it’s more important than ever that we have reliable, accurate information on election night. That’s why DFP created the Election Night Integrity Project which will help visualize and interpret election results, with a focus on sharing reliable information and making sure that every vote counts.
Media Hits
Democratically: 2020 (Marcela featured)
In This Climate (Julian featured)
Farming
Huffington Post (Memo cited)
Grist (Memo cited)
Canada’s National Observer (Memo cited)
Yes! Magazine (Memo cited)
Biden
WBUR (Polling mentioned)
Green Queen (DFP mentioned)
KQED (DFP mentioned)
JDSupra (DFP mentioned)
Rigzone (Julian quoted)
State Impact (DFP mentioned)
Bloomberg (Julian quoted)
Senate & House races
EcoWatch (Danielle quoted, polling mentioned)
Yale Climate Connections (Danielle quoted + polling mentioned)
A Nation of Change (DFP + polling mentioned)
The Inertia (Polling mentioned)
Inside Climate News (Polling mentioned)
Coronavirus
Center for American Progress (DFP cited)
Greatist (DFP mentioned)
Cabinet
Green New Deal
Marketplace (DFP fellow, Kira McDonald quoted, DFP memo cited)
Capital and Main (DFP mentioned)
Miscellaneous
NHPR (Julian quoted)
Gizmodo (Polling mentioned)
Venture Beat (Polling mentioned)
Huffington Post (DFP mentioned)
Colorado Public Radio (DFP mentioned)
Gizmodo (DFP mentioned)
In These Times (Sean quoted)
Meme
How it started:
How it’s going:
