Originally published on Pressenza
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Against the odds, a youth-led mobilization succeeded in placing the climate crisis at the forefront of the 2020 election season. We didn’t get a full-fledged climate debate, but we did get the Climate Crisis Town Hall, helpfully hosted and paywalled by CNN. Despite this warm, generous embrace from the Democratic National Committee and mainstream media, in a few short years the grassroots efforts of groups like the Sunrise Movement left established think tanks in the dust and sparked a resurgence of interest in climate policy. Catalyzed by young climate activists, an outpouring of new articles, books, and videos has engaged millions of people in mapping out a future free of fossil fuels.
After healthcare, climate change ranks as the second-most important issue to Democrats. Even as an economic recession threatens amid the coronavirus pandemic, the climate remains a top concern. For the first time in 20 years, a majority of Americans say that climate change should be a national priority for the government—a 14 percentage point increase over the response to the same survey four years ago. Close to two-thirds, 64 percent, say environmental protection should be a top priority, comparable to the 67 percent who say strengthening the economy should be paramount. People of color, whose turnout will make or break future elections for Democrats, overwhelmingly support environmental protection and government action on climate change (and do so at significantly higher rates than whites). In 2020, one-third of eligible voters will be people of color. Let’s look at what leading Democrats have to offer climate voters, which is to say most Americans.