In November 2018, residents of Portland, Oregon, made history by passing The Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF), a breakthrough initiative that will raise an estimated $44-$61 million annually to support local clean energy and economic justice initiatives. The fund passed with 65 percent of the vote and support from a long list of local businesses and community organizations, including faith leaders, labor unions, and more. This Executive Summary captures toplines on what the campaign learned about what it takes to win.

A statewide poll of Pennsylvania voters found that...

• 72% support the state participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initative (RGGI) and 56% said they were more likely to vote for state elected officials who support joining RGGI
• 56% said the initiative would boost the state’s economy, while 21% said it would hurt. Forty percent believed it would have a positive impact on their electricity bill
• 70% said they would be more likely to support RGGI if proceeds were invested in training workers for clean energy jobs, expanding energy efficiency programs for homes and businesses to lower consumer bills and boosting economic development in farming communities that produce renewable energy
• 78% percent want the state to provide job training, guaranteed wages or other assistance to coal and natural gas workers who lose their jobs as a result of the market transition to renewable energy sources
• 76% of respondents considered climate change to be a serious problem, with nearly half of voters saying it is “very serious”
• More than 70% also supported the state updating and strengthening regulations to restrict the release of methane from natural gas wells, pipelines and storage facilities

The Climate Advocacy Lab and The All We Can Save Project came together to review the latest research and field testing about women's engagement on climate change, before turning to excpetional female climate leaders – and contributing essayist for the forthcoming anthology, All We Can Save (AWCS) – about the powerful impacts of feminine & feminist climate leadership.

A Sept. 11-14 poll of likely voters nationally has found strong demand for more media coverage of climate change and its impacts on events like extreme-weather hazards. Some highlights:

• Only 39% of voters hear about climate change at least once a week in the media compared to 45% who say they hear about natural disasters in that timeframe
• 59 percent say they follow climate change somewhat or very closely in the news (69% of Democrats, 59% of Independents, 51% of Independents)
• 77% say it is important for the news to attribute extreme weather events to climate change (48% very important)
• This includes 88% of Democrats (65% Very Important), 71% of Independents (40% Very Important), and 68% of Republicans (33% Very Important)
• 71% say they want to hear the news tell them if climate change is worsening an extreme weather event, including 66% of Republicans

A recent poll looking at American attitudes towards new regulations on development in the wake of record numbers of wildfires and hurricanes show broad support for policies to increase resilience and help protect communities from floods and fires. In addition, 75% of Americans say they have personally felt the affects of climate change 75% of Americans say they have personally observed effects of climate change

• A majority of Americans support policies to increase resilience to and help protect communities from wildfires including: prohibiting development near fire-prone areas (58%), requiring people to purchase fire insurance (60%), removing dead vegetation in forests (76%), helping Americans who lose their homes due to fires (79%), increasing the number of firefighters (85%), and requiring use of fireresistant building materials (87%).
• A majority of Americans similarly support policies that increase resilience to and help protect communities from floods, including: prohibiting development in flood-prone areas (57%), paying people to move to live in safer places (59%), requiring flood insurance (66%), helping Americans who lose homes due to floods (77%), requiring new building codes to minimize flood damage (84%), and doing construction to encourage quicker water drainage (87%).

By a 2:1 margin, voters agree that minimizing our reliance on fossil fuels will create millions of new jobs in the clean energy economy, rather than kill jobs or reduce our nation’s energy independence.

66% of voters support increasing incentives for the clean energy industry, 60% support providing benefits to workers displaced by the transition away from fossil fuels, and 62% of all voters support regulating emissions to reduce pollution.

Voters also agree that fossil fuel companies have a net negative impact on communities of color.

57% of voters support an executive order to force the EPA to reduce pollution disparities in local communities, and 60% support an executive order to direct federal funding for green jobs and infrastructure in the most vulnerable communities.

26% of Gen Zers think humans can stop climate change in its tracks while roughly half (49%) believe that the phenomenon can be slowed (but not stopped).

Gen Z expresses concern about climate at statistically the same rate as the general population, with 73% saying they are “very” or “somewhat” concerned about the impact of climate change on the environment.

When asked about their interest in pursuing a career in various sectors of the energy industry, Gen Zers are most interested in solar (50%) and wind energy (43%).