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.

The CBS political drama Madam Secretary increased support for governmental action on climate change and boosted several hard-to-move attitudes on climate justice. This research also found that many of the positive shifts in audience attitudes persisted even two weeks after viewing the episode – providing empirical evidence that viewing climate-forward content can provide stable shifts in climate attitudes in the short-to-mid term. Madam Secretary proves that good storytelling and meaningful issues can blend together to create compelling, thought-provoking drama with real-world impact for audiences at home. In the episode, a “super typhoon” threatens to destroy the coral island nation of Nauru. U.S. Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord and her team must figure out how to evacuate and permanently relocate the entire island’s population. For participants who watched the climate episode, the research found a substantial increase in general climate concern including (i) increased worry about climate change and (ii) increased certainty that climate change “poses a significant threat to society.”

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.

Are you looking to build digital and in-person organizing tactics that will support your organization or local group in your long-term strategy? Join us for an exclusive training session on the integration of online and offline organizing tactics; a strategic approach designed to amplify impact and engagement across diverse channels.

• Discover the significance of leveraging both digital and traditional organizing methods and tactics to effectively achieve long-term goals.

The Artivist Network is a collective of arts activists and facilitators who support organizers and movements to more strategically engage arts, artists, and culture in creating systemic change through the innovation, exchange, and dissemination of new forms of political intervention. It focuses on empowering activists and artists with new skills, networks, tactics, and forms of political intervention. It focuses specifically on climate justice organizing for its potential to provoke deep, structural, and intersectional change. This site describes artivist campaigns, projects, and movement support.

The landscape and demand for climate stories are shifting. For a very long time, the conversation around climate change and the environment has been led by circles of scientists and policy and law makers with artists, storytellers, and BIPOC communities being largely absent from the conversation until recently. Independent film is breaking the cycle of the dominant film industry voices that have controlled which stories are told (and not told), how they are told, and who gets to tell them. Stories are helping to humanize and depoliticize the issue of climate change, providing complex and nuanced perspectives to audiences and building bridges over once-polarizing waters. The independent film industry is helping pave the way for a more environmentally aware and engaged future, but there’s still work to be done.

Inform, imagine, act. Not Too Late is a project to invite newcomers to the climate movement, as well as provide climate facts and encouragement for people who are already engaged but weary. Its goal is to offer good news, perspectives, voices, connections to people, as well as good paths forward for the climate and those who care about it. Not Too Late uses three steps to engage people: Inform—make sure you're reading beyond the horrifying headlines; fill yourself with the real facts about where we're at. Imagine—take time to imagine what the world could like; imagine what your city/town could look like if there was healthy air and strong communities. Act—to really build change at the scale we need requires us to act together; find a climate organization in your town/state/nation and get involved.

The Climate Collection displays many posters that depict some aspect of the climate crisis—from artists around the world. (They’re pretty awesome!) This resource came out of a global open call that sought digital illustrations targeting climate change, with a focus on hope and solutions. The outstanding work of a total of 50 Selected Artists and 46 Finalists has been chosen to join The Climate Collection under an open license. The project received 2,222 submissions by 1,432 artists from 95 countries.

Environmental justice is central to tackling climate change. This interactive map identifies toxic facilities in Texas, giving each county an environmental justice risk score. The results indicate that communities of color are bearing the brunt of pollution. The map includes an option for Texans to add their personal stories.

The effect of watching the film Don’t Look Up was polarizing. For Democrats who watched it, they become 1% more supportive of immediate government action on climate. But for Republicans, they became 15% LESS supportive. Independents became 9% MORE supportive.