Issue: Adaptation/Resilience

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.
             

This interactive webinar covered the process of how this collaboration between environmental justice and labor forces was facilitated, how they built a shared vision around resilience, a rundown of the report’s key findings, and a guided activity for how to apply the report’s insights to participants’ local communities and organizing work.

The concept of a “just transition” has permeated mainstream discourse, yet those who will likely be most impacted by the energy transition – frontline workers and their communities – have mostly been excluded from the conversation. This report, derived from over 100 listening sessions and interviews with workers and frontline community members, encourages policymakers to:

Go Big: Be guided by a just transition vision that is ambitious and comprehensive in order to address the scope of impacts for affected communities and industries. Job creation, labor standards, and workers’ rights must be included.
Go Wide: Impacts from economic transitions can be felt in a number of ways, from financial to social to psychological. Policymakers should engage with existing social infrastructure such as labor unions, frontline community groups, and Indigenous nations to make sure support is readily available.
Go Far: While the climate crisis is urgent, just transition plans must not be fixated on the short-term. Instead, policymakers should include long-term commitments to workers and their communities as part of their vision and take into account differences in generational needs between older, established workers and those just entering the workforce.

In addition, the report addresses how labor and advocacy organizations need to develop authentic, trusting relationships with each other to build political and policy alignment around just transition goals. One way to start is to establish and expand internal committees and capacities to understand each other’s issues and perspectives.