Message of the Week: September 3, 2019

On Wednesday, ten presidential candidates will take the stage in New York for a seven-hour climate crisis town hall hosted by CNN. This unprecedented primetime event will reach Americans from coast-to-coast — due in no small part to the drumbeat of pressure from climate coalitions and environmental stakeholders to put this very real threat front-and-center. The truth is, the American people want bold climate solutions. An Emerson College poll found that 69% of voters said it was very important that a presidential candidate prioritize combating climate change. The CNN town hall on the climate crisis is proof that the political momentum is behind bold climate action. It’s time for members of Congress to follow suit and remember that an overwhelming majority of Americans, including their constituents, are concerned about the impacts of climate change and want bold action to address the climate crisis.

Reorient Target Messaging

• The American people have made it clear they want bold solutions to address the climate crisis. Leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives have proposed bold climate solutions that will put our country on a path towards achieving a 100% clean energy economy by 2050.  [Senator] must listen to his/her constituents and support action to address the climate crisis.
• Change is happening, despite the failure of [Senator] to support climate action, mayors, businesses and community leaders are already taking action to cut carbon pollution and address the climate crisis.
• [State Demonym]s are already experiencing the impacts of climate change and are urging [Senator] to stop standing in the way of America’s growing clean energy economy. 

Renew Target Messaging

• With July officially the hottest month on record and extreme weather impacting communities across the country, the need for climate action is clear. [Senator] should oppose the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back protections that would reduce the pollution that’s contributing to the climate crisis, and put forth bold climate solutions.
• As Americans grow increasingly concerned about the climate crisis, we need [Senator]’s leadership to help protect our public health and environment, enhance job creation and the economy, and mitigate the worst impacts of climate change.

Energize Target Messaging

• [Representative] should listen to the demands for climate solutions and co-sponsor the 100% Clean Economy Act of 2019.
• City, state, and business leaders are already making local commitments to achieve steep carbon pollution reductions as well as accelerate and incentivize the transition to clean, secure, and carbon-free energy. [Representative] should join the momentum by co-sponsoring the 100% Clean Economy Act of 2019.

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND

• Navigator Research revealed that seven-in-ten Americans think climate change is either a dangerous problem for people today or one that needs to be addressed today in order to prevent it from becoming dangerous in the future.
• 12 states are considering policies that get 100% of their electricity from clean energy sources.   
• Nearly 3.3 million jobs nationally have been created as part of America’s transition to a clean energy economy.
• A climate assessment published by the Trump administration found extreme heat events are on the rise in the United States and have been since the 1960s.
• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirmed that July 2019 was the hottest month ever on record.

For more national and state-specific facts about climate change, clean energy, extreme weather, and carbon pollution, please visit the Climate Change Index at https://climateindex.org/

The 100% Clean Economy Act of 2019 Toolkit is accessible here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Uj-4HtIaULMOQAk9_sI85pk9S8MTsJeOVoMrffzjLaE/edit?usp=sharing

Special Content: Hurricane Dorian
(Material provided here is based on guidance circulated by Climate Nexus on 8/30/2019)

TALKING POINTS – DORIAN IN THE CONTEXT OF CLIMATE CHANGE

• The science is clear—climate change is making hurricanes worse.
• The 4th US National Climate Assessment states that “Increases in greenhouse gases...have contributed to increases in Atlantic hurricane activity since 1970.”
• Climate change increased the amount of rain falling during Hurricanes Maria, Irma, Harvey, Sandy, and Katrina.
• Hurricanes Maria, Irma, Harvey, Sandy, and Katrina are the 5 costliest hurricane disasters on record in the US.
• Extreme rainfall was the top source of hurricane-related deaths from 2016 to 2018.
• Sea level rise makes coastal flooding worse by extending the reach of storm surge. (Storm surge is water pushed ashore by heavy winds.)
• Heat fuels hurricanes, so sea surface warming makes it possible to have stronger storms.
• The US was struck by five Category 4 or 5 cyclones in 14 months between August 2017 and October 2018.
• Atlantic hurricanes are exploding into huge storms more rapidly, and climate change is one reason why.
• New extremes overwhelm and push infrastructure past design thresholds.

Climate Nexus short video explaining advances in hurricane-climate change science since Harvey.