How to dial up “climate ambition” wherever you are
Some of us live in states and cities leading on climate action while others are fighting an uphill battle to bring climate issues to the attention of their local government. Wherever you live, boosting climate ambition among elected officials is critical and achievable through personalized messaging.
There’s almost always more an elected official can do to hasten a just clean energy transition.
If you live somewhere that prioritizes climate action (yay), it might feel pointless to contact your elected officials or celebrate their wins publicly. Our efforts can feel equally fruitless on the climate-denier end of the spectrum since it seems like no amount of pressure could possibly get a climate-skeptical legislator to budge.
The reality is, even the most “anti-climate” policymakers are sensitive to constituent attitudes and can take baby steps toward climate action, and “climate champions” can always do more if they think there’s public support. For every elected official, public attitudes are used to prioritize policy issues, and climate change is one of many competing and urgent issues on the agenda. It’s up to climate advocates to ensure that the climate perspective is represented and prioritized as often as possible.
“Climate ambition” is our term for a policymaker’s propensity for climate action—and it exists on a spectrum, not a binary. There are lots of ways an elected official can demonstrate climate ambition. At the federal level, the League of Conservation Voters scorecard is a great baseline marker of support for climate action, indexing “yes” votes on climate legislation. But the spectrum of climate ambition goes beyond votes: policymakers can sponsor or introduce new climate bills, speak out in the media on climate, prioritize climate in negotiations with their colleagues, and more.
🔥 Climate Ambition campaign is Feb 26 - Mar 29! See the 5-step Action Plan here. Take action anytime by accomplishing the step-by-step playbooks on your own time, or drop into a weekly Hour of Action to take action alongside other changemakers.
Even climate “champions” need encouragement.
A city councilor who joined our Hour of Action put it well:
“The additional push is so, so critical. I get pushed in so many directions by my constituents—I wish more people were pushing on climate so that I could focus all my time and energy there and could know that doing so was in total alignment with what folks I represent were demanding. We need politicians going way beyond voting the right way. We need them working really hard to introduce and lead on climate policies constantly.”
Consistently contacting your elected officials provides important justification for, and validation of, prioritizing climate work. Elected officials can’t go to bat for climate policies and put their reputations on the line without the support of their constituents. Even powerful U.S. senators and governors need to be able to say, “I hear from my constituents all day long on this; it’s critically important to them.”
During an election year (hello 2024!), public encouragement and amplification of climate action is especially essential. If you want to see pro-climate representatives reelected, acknowledge them publicly. Write a letter to the editor recognizing them for all their impactful climate work, post on social media, and mention to friends or colleagues how their leadership has improved your city or state. Elected officials work for you, so give them feedback on their job performance however you can.
Contacting climate “obstructionists” is not a lost cause.
First off, if you’re feeling discouraged because your elected official is a “climate obstructionist,” we're with you. Having a rep that is anti-climate is frustrating, and it's easy to feel silenced. But do not give up your power. Own it.
While anti-climate officials do have political and financial incentives to remain in the “climate obstructionist” camp, your power as a constituent is to make the role of “climate obstructionist” feel like an unpopular one. It’s easier for an elected official to abdicate responsibility on climate if they can say they never hear from constituents on the issue. By voicing support for climate action, you’re applying much-needed pressure to anyone who denies climate science and fails to act on your behalf. Keep calling, keep emailing, and lean on a community of fellow climate-concerned people who are doing the work alongside you.
Remember to publicly call out their shortcomings in letters to the editor, on social media, and among your personal network. And when a climate obstructionist incumbent is up for reelection, you can also help amplify their challenger’s positive climate vision (hopefully they have one!).
EXAMPLE: The Evolution of “Representative Shakespeare”
Representative Shakespeare is in his 4th term in Congress. He's a mainstream Democrat from the NYC suburbs with an LCV score of 98 and generally gets "credit" from his constituents for being "pro-climate." He's a shoo-in to support any major proposed climate bill, but he's never introduced his own. Watch how he might move along the climate ambition spectrum with constituent pressure:
September 2021: When climate bills come through his committee, he eagerly votes “yes,” and then gets on with his day. So much to do!
December 2021: His staff tells him there’s been an uptick in emails, calls, and constituent meetings about climate issues. He starts being more vocal on climate, taking care to start mentioning it at in-district events, interviews with the press, and on social media.
March 2022: It’s a midterm election year. He’s not worried about the general, but a very climate-ambitious primary candidate has started getting public attention. Shakespeare doubles down on his climate talking points.
April 2022: The administration is expected to make a big regulatory decision on new methane leakage requirements. Shakespeare leads a joint sign-on letter with over 100 signatures from his colleagues in Congress and sends it to the president urging her to adopt the most stringent standards possible.
May 2022: Shakespeare wins his primary but has also noticed he now identifies as a real leader on climate after his sign-on letter received a lot of press and, notably, a lot of encouragement from folks in his district. He’s learned a lot about methane over the past couple of months and has asked his staff to craft a new bill.
August 2022: Shakespeare introduces his bill with 15 original cosponsors. He asks his colleagues about joining a few climate-focused caucuses in the House and starts considering how he could engage with Republicans on a methane deal.
November 2022: As Shakespeare’s campaign team evaluates voter data, they notice an uptick in turnout from self-identified “environmental” voters and Gen Z. Shakespeare knows correlation doesn’t equal causation, but he wonders whether his recent climate leadership has anything to do with it.
And the cycle continues…
And that’s how climate ambition works! You in?
It’s important to cheerlead your elected climate champs and hold climate obstructionists accountable—and we’ve got a 5-step Action Plan for that! Get in on the action now by RSVPing to an Hour of Action, where you’ll make a meaningful impact alongside fellow changemakers. 🎉
New to political action? This Action Plan includes tons of Advocacy 101-level "what is policy advocacy and how do I do it" resources. Expect a clear road map to becoming an authentic, influential climate advocate. (60% of the community is new to political action, so we're all in great company!)
Seasoned advocate? In this Action Plan, there’s a worksheet to organize what you know about your reps and do a deeper dive into the strengths and gaps in their climate ambition to hone in on optimized messaging and build a productive relationship.
Enjoy this blog post? Share it with your network! Amplifying climate solutions is an essential civic action in building a better future.
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