Polling 201: utilizing public opinion research in your communications ca

Join Youth Climate Finance Alliance and the Climate Advocacy Lab where we’ll share more about our new “State of the US Youth Climate Movement” Report and Zine." We will review our research methodology, key findings, and how learnings are shaping our shifts in our programming and organizing strategy. With hopes to resource climate advocates to better contextualize the state of the domestic US youth climate movement and its challenges - to intergenerational allies, movement partners, as well as funder networks - we will highlight key case studies and have plenty of time to discuss and reflect You can view the full report (bit.ly/YCFAReport), as well as the zine at bit.ly/YCFAZine.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on the clean energy transition, the personal impacts of climate change, climate change as an issue in the presidential race, and methane pollution + a new analysis of the ways that Americans’ climate attitudes change over time.

Extreme weather, including heat waves, poses a significant threat to ecosystems and human health. As global temperatures continue to rise, the frequency and severity of heat waves will increase. Because of this, communicating heat-related risks to the public is increasingly important. One commonly-used communication tool is the Climate Shift Index (CSI), which establishes how much more likely an extreme weather event, such as a heat wave, has been made by climate change.

The Climate Change Empowerment Handbook emphasizes psychological strategies to address climate change.

Lynsy Smithson-Stanley and Jack Zhou join The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about their work on the Climate Advocacy Lab's latest report A Blueprint for Multiracial Cross-class Climate Movements.

In July 2023, as the world experienced its hottest day, week, month, and year in recorded history, UN Secretary-General António Guterres declared that “the era of global warming has ended” and “the era of global boiling has arrived.”1 The world is not acting quickly enough to respond to the pace of climate change. As NASA climate scientist Peter Kalmus observed, “we are losing Earth on our watch.” We are living through a crisis that touches every aspect of our lives, and therefore has a place in every contemporary story. Today, films set in the present or near future that do not include climate change can be considered what they are: fantasy. But there are too few studies examining whether popular films reflect our climate reality. This gap in knowledge prevents us from understanding climate visibility and represen- tation in popular entertainment, as well as the related challenges and opportunities. The Climate Reality Check, a Bechdel–Wallace Test for a World on Fire, pro- vides audience members, screenwriters, filmmakers, studios, and researchers with a straightforward way to evaluate whether climate change is represented—or omitted—in any narrative.3 This two-part, binary evaluation tool is simple, illuminat- ing, and powerful.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling and research on the EPA's vehicle emissions rules, utilities, and people’s emotional responses to climate change.

HEADLINES

Different emotions about climate change are more closely linked with support for different types of policies to address it. Fear is associated most with regulatory action like stronger emissions standards, while hope is associated most with proactive climate policies like investing in clean energy.

Young people bring critical perspective, expertise, and energy to our movement spaces -- but traditional organizing and mobilizing structures can leave them feeling undervalued, tokenized, or burnt out. 

How do we design ladders of engagement that truly support youth leadership development within our climate organizing work?

Participants will leave this Lab training with:

• Evidence-insights into the challenges and opportunities of youth climate organizing