Resource Center

The next global youth climate strike takes place on March 25, marking three years since 1.4 million young people from 123 different countries first walked out of class to demand climate action in March 2019.
The school strikes and other large climate protests of 2019 activated a new generation of leaders and elevated public support for climate action. Since then, challenging social and political conditions have also emerged: a global pandemic and uprising for racial justice, major blocks to progress at the federal level, and now a war in Ukraine.
Navigating uncertainty and challenge is at the core of organizing, but so are practices of adapting, building on past lessons, and bringing bold leadership to pathways forward. Reflecting on the past three years, we dig into the youth climate strike movement and how they are learning to adapt and build on past efforts in the face of growing challenges.

Amplifying working-class people’s experiences with climate and energy may be key for political progress. UK-based Climate Outreach highlights some often-held beliefs by working-class folks in Europe in this resource. Some take individual actions to conserve energy (for financial reasons) but feel powerless to make political change. Some don’t trust politicians. Many favor broadly redistributive climate policies that would make life better for many people, such as expanding public transit. Some want to ensure that freedom and autonomy for individuals would be preserved in any energy transition. Some want to still be able to drive a car (especially those in rural areas) while others are ok with transit options in metro areas. Many favor taxing the rich to finance climate policies.

Americans are concerned about the impact of water scarcity on farmers and ranchers, the economy and public health. More than half of voters in drought-impacted Arizona and Colorado, in particular, fear their state will not have enough water in the next 100 years. Nearly 80% of Americans, nationally, support protecting “natural infrastructure” such as rivers, coastlines, and groundwater supplies. 13% of Americans said that “environmental issues—like climate change, increased temperature, drought, flooding, extreme weather, wildfires” are the most important set of political issues to them, personally. This poll includes over 80 total questions on various aspects of climate impacts and policy.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls – including new guidance for advocates on how to communicate about rising gas prices and the need to shift away from dependence on oil, new polling on Green New Deal proposals, a comparison of American adults’ climate attitudes to climate scientists’, and new polling of young voters about climate issues.