Data for Climate Progress — All We Want for Christmas is the BBBA — 11.30.21
What We’re Watching
All eyes are on the Senate as we wait to see what happens next with the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) following passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) (aka BIF) earlier this month. The IIJA on its own, falls short on climate. The BBBA on the other hand has 14 times the greenhouse gas emissions reduction potential than the IIJA. And our polling has found time and time again that voters overwhelmingly support the BBBA, especially its climate and clean energy provisions.
It is urgent that the Senate passes the BBBA in its entirety to ensure that the U.S. avoids the worst impacts of climate change in the decades to come.
Policy
Indigenous-Led Conservation: A Pathway Towards 30x30
Our new memo by Julia Jeanty on Indigenous-Led Conservation (ILC) details a path forward for meeting the U.S.’s most pressing conservation goals and forging a more modernized and inclusive model for conservation.
Not only is ILC an effective approach to mitigating the effects of climate change, but it is also extremely popular amongst voters. Roughly three-quarters of all likely voters (72 percent) — including nearly all Democrats (83 percent) and a majority of Independents (74 percent) — agree that federal agencies should prioritize ILC as a means for achieving America’s conservation goals. Notably, Republicans also support federal prioritization of ILC by a 31-point margin (58 percent support, 27 percent oppose).
Corporate Crackdown Series
In the first installment of our new Corporate Crackdown series, Protecting Workers From Corporate Crime, we detail how the Biden administration can tackle corporate crime and protect workers.
DFP polling finds that voters strongly support key protections for laborers — from caregivers to workers in foreign factories. In fact, voters across party lines support stronger federal regulations on the labor practices of private businesses by a +24-point margin. Read the report here and stay tuned as the Corporate Crackdown series tackles other instances of corporate wrongdoing.
Read more about the project in The New Republic.
EU-US trade framework for sustainable steel and aluminum
At the G-20 summit in Rome, President Biden announced a landmark new EU-US trade framework for sustainable steel and aluminum. This trade arrangement would begin to phase out the embattled Trump-era steel tariffs in a targeted manner, easing transatlantic tensions and reducing costs in steel-dependent sectors facing supply chain crunches, such as automakers.
Read Jake Higdon’s new blog on the historic trade deal and how Congress will have to pass legislation to invest in clean domestic manufacturing to ensure that American workers reap the full benefits of the arrangement as the world moves to clean steel.
Polling
Voters Support Investments for a Reliable Clean Energy Economy
In a series of surveys conducted in October and November 2021, Data for Progress and Climate Power sought to assess voters’ perceptions of current energy prices and support for government investments in clean energy. We find that despite overwhelming concerns about increasing energy prices, voters widely agree that lawmakers should make ambitious investments to accelerate our transition to clean energy. Read more here.
Cross-Cutting Issues
Do voters disapprove of Biden — or rising gas prices?
The latest increase in retail gasoline prices between January 18th to November 8th of this year is strongly correlated with presidential job disapproval, as modeled by FiveThirtyEight using 891 polls conducted between January 23rd and November 14th. The latest increase in retail gasoline prices between January 18th to November 8th of this year is strongly correlated with presidential job disapproval, as modeled by FiveThirtyEight using 891 polls conducted between January 23rd and November 14th. Read our take on the issue and how it affects the Biden administration here.
We’re Hiring
DFP is looking for a part-time Copy Editor to work closely with Data for Progress’ communications team to copy edit memos, blogs, press releases, polls, and other external and internal materials.
Media Hits
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