In recent polling conducted by Data for Progress[1], 58% vs. 42% of voters supported Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s plan to move to 100% clean energy, even if it costs $5 trillion over the next 20 years – one of the biggest issue advantages for the Biden campaign.
So why is climate change proving to be a decisive, winning issue in the 2020 elections?
Because voters understand what Governor Jay Inslee liked to say during his short-lived but highly impactful presidential run, climate change isn’t a single issue – it’s all the issues in one.
Voters overwhelmingly support investments in clean energy as the best way to improve the economy – because they know that prior to the pandemic, clean energy jobs were growing faster than another other sector of economy.
They see addressing climate change as a health issue and also an issue of addressing historic inequity in America — because dirty air alone kills tens of thousands of Americans every year, especially communities of color who are much more likely to breathe dirty air and drink water contaminated with lead.
In the same Data for Progress research, 57% of Americans supported requiring that a significant portion of climate investments be targeted at low-income communities who are already feeling the impacts of climate change.
And who could have guessed at the beginning of 2020 that another top issue would be who voters trust to more likely to listen and believe in science?
Another big advantage for candidates who support a strong climate agenda – because Americans know far too well that we were slow to listen to the science around COVID-19, before it killed 120,000 Americans and counting and wrecked our economy.
So if “It’s the Economy, Stupid” defined another Presidential election, “100% Clean Energy is COOL” may well be ours.
[1] http://filesforprogress.org/memos/climate-change-winning-issue-2020.pdf