Resource Type: Tips & How-Tos

From studying past social movements, the Lab has learned that the transformational change necessary to equitably address the climate crisis is more likely to occur when multiracial, cross-class (MRXC) movements* claim their collective power, expand the imagination of what’s possible, and organize and mobilize people at scale. In the last 5 years, the Sunrise Movement has demonstrated a commitment to learning and practice on multiracial, cross-class movement building. This week’s newsletter features reflections and lessons from Lab member and Deputy Organizer Director at Sunrise, Dejah Powell. As a Lab member yourself, you can read the full report* on how Sunrise has been working to build a movement across race and class, and the implications and learnings based on those efforts. This report was developed as part of the Lab’s Climate Justice Microgrant Program.

The year 2023 is well under way, but I’ve been getting around to looking back at 2022, and wanted to share our roundup of some of the most notable resources—case studies, reflections, field tests, polls, and social science papers—that we added to the Resource Library last year (you can also check out our mid-year roundup* from last May for even more 2022 action; and our best of 2021* too). While there’s too much good stuff to share it all here, I’ve focused on what the year taught us in three priority areas: multiracial, cross-class (MRXC) movement building; climate justice campaigning; and organizing & mobilizing.

Describe the clean energy aspects of the IRA (Inflation Reduction Act) as a “landmark achievement” to address climate change and show off local benefits to communities, rather than as a way for people to save money. This is one insight from the Potential Energy Coalition’s research after they surveyed over 15,000 people, tested dozens of messages and gathered hundreds of hours of interview data from Americans across the political spectrum in the past nine months. All to answer the question, what is the best way to talk about clean energy that gets Americans excited? This webinar also covered the public’s current state of opinion and knowledge on these topics, other effective messages and messaging traps to avoid, plus wording guidance.