Since 2018, the Climate Advocacy Lab has distributed Climate Justice Microgrants to 25 environmental justice and climate justice organizations around the United States who are doing powerful work to protect and improve their communities.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new findings about the 2024 electorate’s views on climate change and clean energy.

Voters who participated in the election, especially voters of color, overwhelmingly support expanding clean energy and investing in climate resilience. 84% of voters who participated in the election support expanding clean energy investments to create more manufacturing jobs in the U.S. 83% of voters who participated in the election support expanding clean energy investments to lower electricity bills and energy costs. 84% of voters who participated in the election support providing more resources to protect families against the impacts of climate change and to prepare for and recover from future climate disasters. Among Black voters, 92% support providing more resources to protect families against the impacts of climate change and to prepare for and recover from future climate disasters, including 56% who “strongly” support the idea, 91% support expanding clean energy investments as a way to lower electricity bills and energy costs, including 59% who “strongly” support the idea, and 89% support expanding clean energy investments as a way to create more manufacturing jobs in the U.S., including 51% who “strongly” support the idea. Among Latino voters, 90% support expanding clean energy investments as a way to lower electricity bills and energy costs, including 46% who “strongly” support the idea, 90% support expanding clean energy investments as a way to create more manufacturing jobs in the U.S., including 45% who “strongly” support the idea, and 88% support providing more resources to protect families against the impacts of climate change and to prepare for and recover from future climate disasters, including 47% who “strongly” support the idea.

Voter registration is a prerequisite to political participation. Throughout American history, organizations have served to directly counter efforts to suppress Black political power. Before casting a ballot on Election Day, voters must register to vote with their local election officials. Nonpartisan voter registration groups play a key role in ensuring that this happens – and their work is especially important for Black communities. This resource examines the past and present role of nonpartisan voter registration organizations in Black communities and look ahead to the work they will engage in during election season and beyond.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on polluter accountability and new polls of Black voters and young Americans.

Legal Defense Fund’s holistic initiative is building Black political power at a critical moment for American democracy. As the nation’s premier legal organization fighting for racial justice, protecting the right to vote has been a core part of LDF’s work since its founding in 1940. And, for just as long, a holistic approach to voting rights advocacy has been intrinsic to making this happen. The Black Voters on the Rise program continues to champion this multifaceted approach – and serves as the foundation for carrying this work into the future, with an emphasis on empowering the next generation of Black voters to make their voices heard, especially amid a critical election season. Black Voters on the Rise will continue to invest in deep partnerships in seven focus states and, alongside these partners, will support the development of nonpartisan resources that support the long-term work of building Black political power. This support includes creating infrastructure and building on-the-ground capacity that advances Black people’s interests and achieves the promises of America’s multiracial democracy.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling about fossil fuel accountability, publicly owned utilities, and frontline communities’ vulnerability to extreme weather.

Black and Hispanic Americans feel particularly vulnerable to extreme weather, reporting less confidence in their local governments and less preparedness in their communities. Wide majorities of all racial and ethnic groups “agree” or “strongly agree” that they have access to reliable warnings and information about potential natural disasters and that they have someone they can call for help in the event of extreme weather. Still, White Americans exceed both Black and Hispanic Americans by about 10 percentage points on each measure. Between 53% and 56% of Black and Hispanic adults agree they could recover and rebuild, have the resources to do so or have taken steps to prepare their household for a natural disaster or extreme weather event. Meanwhile, between 65% and 72% of White Americans agree across these measures -- indicating their greater degree of preparedness and ability to recover.

This report finds an indisputable connection between the fossil fuel industry’s practices and negative impacts to African American/Black/ African Diaspora, Indigenous, Latina/Chicana, and low-income women’s health, safety, and human rights in the U.S. and parts of Canada. Specifically, fossil fuel-derived air, water, and soil pollution impact women’s fertility, mental health, and daily work and responsibilities. The negative effects from fossil fuel activity—including extraction, storage and transportation of coal, oil, and gas often in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG)—stem from direct pollution of communities by fossil fuel companies’ contributions to industrial carbon dioxide and methane. The climate crisis does not and will not affect everyone equally, as factors such as gender, race, and socio-economic status make certain communities significantly more vulnerable to the increasing threats of climate change. Global inequalities, rooted in structural patriarchy, colonialism, white supremacy, and capitalism, continue to place people of the global majority, and specifically women, at risk.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new findings about Americans’ water pollution concerns and new polling in political battlegrounds, including Florida and competitive U.S. House districts in California.