Issue: Adaptation/Resilience

From one perspective, we’re ending 2021 a lot like we started it. In a pandemic, experiencing one extreme weather event after another, and anxious over how power is being wielded in Congress and the White House.
At the same time, there have been a significant number of policy victories at all levels of government while new funding resources and new horizons in climate leadership are creating transformational shifts within the climate movement. Shifts that have the potential to unlock the people power we are going to need to win – and secure – the transition to a clean energy future that we all need. Below you’ll find summaries of key trends in the climate movement for 2021 – and some of the Best of the Lab from this year.

“Young people don’t need a degree to fight for the future.” These words were spoken by Mishka Banuri, a young climate activist from Utah. This is the sentiment echoed by young people all across, not only the country, but the world. Alongside this statement, we also claim that young people don’t need a paid job in a nonprofit organization nor credibility or professionality to change the world and restore our future.

Organizing and movement building is core to the Lab’s Theory of Change. They are necessary for building the people power we need to meet the magnitude of the climate emergency. Organizing, built as it is on relationships of mutual trust, connection, and support among human beings, is often messy and non-linear and contains more than its fair share of demoralizing setbacks.
Keeping people engaged in the face of emotionally charged loss is a recurring challenge for organizers, especially when it comes after a long-term effort with high stakes. I was thinking about this in the wake of the news last week that Enbridge claims Line 3 is operational. Here are four suggestions for taking on a challenge like this.

Before we can convince the American public to walk the walk on climate action, we’ve got to get them to talk the talk. Read on about our work to normalize relational climate conversations and move folks forward on climate change.

This memo from the White House highlights public polling about key environmental provisions of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework (BIF), as well as strong poll numbers for climate-related infrastructure investments that were left out of the bipartisan plan. 
The memo shows that Americans broadly support a range of environmental policies included in the BIF:

Nearly three-quarters of Americans support replacing all lead water pipes and service lines (per Morning Consult)
The majority of Americans support investments to plug abandoned oil and gas wells and restore abandoned mines (per Morning Consult)
63% of Americans support robust proposals for transit and rail investments (per Morning Consult)
61% of Americans support investments to build new electric vehicle charging stations (per Navigator) 
61% of voters support providing more federal assistance to cities and states to improve the resiliency of infrastructure to extreme weather events (per Data for Progress)
60% of Americans support investing in clean energy to help avoid power outages, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and combat climate change (per Yahoo News/YouGov)

Additionally, Americans widely support several climate-related policies that are not included in the BIF:

64% of Americans support incentives to spur clean energy deployment (per Reuters)
Nearly two-thirds of voters support government action to move the country to a fully clean power sector by 2035 (per Data for Progress)
77% of voters support creating a Civilian Climate Corps of conservation and resilience workers (per Data for Progress)

The past few weeks have rough: from an “eye of fire” in the Gulf of Mexico and record-breaking heat in the West to tropical storm Elsa bearing down on our neighbors in south Florida, who are already mourning.
I’ve been warding off my personal feelings of grief, anger, and despair by doubling down on local activism efforts, and recently hosted the first in-person meeting of our “Green New Deal for Durham” leadership team since COVID.
It was so nice to be with people in three dimensions. We hugged each other and ate snacks. We did not worry about frozen cameras or choppy audio or unmuting. We captured next steps on a real whiteboard. And, I also found myself hyper-aware of the limitations of in-person gatherings, after 18 months of Zoom meetings. Turnout was lower than at our virtual gatherings as folks had to sort childcare, factor in commute time, and assess their personal health risk.
COVID dramatically altered our activism, and not all of the changes were bad. Even as we dip our toes into “post-pandemic” life, the virus continues to ravage communities around the U.S. and the world. This week, we’ll share some reflections and resources to help your organization navigate post-pandemic climate advocacy.