Climate & Energy Communications Cheat Sheet 11/7/18

Last night’s decisive Democratic win in the House coupled with some major wins in Governor’s races like Colorado, Michigan, Oregon, and California and in congressional districts in Nevada, Florida, and New Hampshire shows voter support for candidates who are moving us to a clean energy future. There were some disappointing results for pro-climate candidates and initiatives. But overall, this cycle clearly showed national momentum in the right direction and puts Washington several steps closer to the aggressive climate action we need.

• Winning the fight against climate change is the urgent moral responsibility of our generation. And that begins with electing candidates who are serious about ambitiously and aggressively addressing the problem with modern and pragmatic solutions.
• We are seeing candidates with bonafide climate and clean energy credentials running and winning across the country, and will be adding to the growing list of leaders in this space when they come to Washington next year:
• Look at Steven Horsford who, as Nevada Senate Majority Leader, got his Clean Energy Jobs Initiative over the finish line and helped Nevadans get the training they need for clean energy and energy efficiency jobs. And thanks to his efforts, the Nevada legislature was able to pass a 25% renewable portfolio standard.
• Or Chris Pappas, who as a member of the New Hampshire Executive Council worked to secure investments for solar, wind, biomass, hydro, and geothermal projects and also fought to block drilling off New Hampshire’s coast.

• Unfortunately, Washington State’s I-1631 didn’t pass. This would have been a momentous step, creating the first state-level carbon fee to fund important clean energy investments. On the positive side, this initiative got closer than a similar initiative in 2016. It also reinforces a lesson that important ballot initiatives like this need and deserve support from advocates across the country (donations, field organization, and volunteers) in order to overcome huge spending by opponents like Big Oil--in the same way we mobilize nationwide support for stand-out candidates.
• If states aren’t ready for a price on carbon yet, we should continue to build support until they are. In the meantime, there are lots of other ways to move the needle. More than half the states already have portfolio standards requiring clean energy, showing a decent level of acceptance for clean energy policies. Advocates should encourage states to increase their clean energy requirements, and expand them to include a wider variety of carbon-free solutions.

With a bold, united strategy and ambitious policy ideas, Democrats can encourage more climate champions to run, win, and move the U.S. toward zero emissions by 2050.