Most AAPI adults have experienced some form of extreme weather in the past 5 years (79%), and 67% say extreme weather has influenced their views on climate change. Despite varying experiences with extreme weather, most AAPI adults (84%) believe climate change is happening, a slightly higher share than that of the U.S. population who said the same in September 2023. AAPI Democrats are more inclined than AAPI Republicans to acknowledge climate change (94% vs. 68%) and are also more likely to view human activity as the primary cause (86% vs. 52%). On specific climate-related policies, there is widespread support among AAPI adults for reducing the amount greenhouse gases companies are allowed to emit (74%) and providing tax credits for solar panel installation (70%). Most also support providing financial incentives for electric vehicles (60%), but fewer favor requiring all new vehicles sold in their state to be electric or hybrid by 2035 (44%).

The AAPI community is an integral part of our growing clean energy economy. AAPI workers represent around 8 percent of the clean energy workforce, slightly higher than both the overall energy industry and the national average. Looking into specific sectors, their share of the workforce is even higher. In the solar industry, AAPI workers constitute 9% of the workforce, while in the wind industry, this figure rises to 10%. Plus, the AAPI community is represented at the heights of the decarbonization movement. They are thought leaders and activists. Kristy Drutman is a Filipina-American climate activist who founded Brown Girl Green, an online platform educating people about environmental justice and sustainability. However, there is more progress to be made. Across our nation’s workforce, representation for the AAPI community in leadership positions has been lacking, especially for AAPI women.

Asian Americans have long been excluded from the national climate movement, activists and scientists told Axios. Asian Americans across the country are working to change that legacy of omission by leading climate organizations, protests and research. Climate justice activist Alexia Leclercq, who is Taiwanese with Indigenous ancestry, tells Axios that growing up in Texas, "upper class, white, mostly men" were always depicted as scientists or environmentalists. Although representation has "somewhat improved," Leclercq says the larger Asian American community is still "not included" in leadership within these spaces.

There is an immense need to increase the diversity of environmental experts appearing before legislative bodies. To address this challenge, Green 2.0’s Environmental Experts of Color Database offers an expansive set of leaders on environmental and environmental justice topics. Our convening power ensures a wide range of experiences and backgrounds. The leaders represented in this database hold invaluable knowledge and a more representative set of perspectives on vital environmental issues. Anyone who is interested in connecting with experts of color to invite them to participate in hearings, events, research opportunities or other potential projects can use this database.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including newly released national survey data from Yale and George Mason on Americans’ attitudes about climate and clean energy, new polling on climate as a factor in the midterm elections for AAPI voters, and new state-level polling in Arizona about climate and clean energy.

Climate change was one of the top reasons why AAPI voters supported Democratic candidates in the midterms. Climate change and the environment is the issue area that AAPI voters were most likely to say was a reason to vote for Democrats in the midterm elections (64% said this, compared to 61% saying “quality health care and prescription drugs”, 60% saying Roe v. Wade, and more).

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polls focusing on voters of color, young people, and Latinos.

Many people communicating for social change are exploring how to tell diverse and inclusive stories that center marginalized communities while building understanding about how inequality persists. Intersectionality is an important tool to help us tell great stories that help us understand systemic issues. Five guiding principles to telling intersectional stories: Show, don’t tell; Provide historical context; Uplift the voices of marginalized people; Tell whole stories; and, Radically reimagine the world.

  

• Californians are most likely to say that the state’s top environmental issue today is water supply and drought. 63% say that the supply of water is a big problem in their region. 40% say they have done a lot to reduce water use in response to the drought.
• 55% say the threat of wildfires is a big problem in their part of the state. An overwhelming majority (78%) say climate change has contributed to the state’s recent wildfires. Most Californians have at least some confidence in the government’s readiness to respond to the wildfires.
• 35% of Californians say air pollution is a big problem in their part of the state. 57% say air pollution is a more serious threat in lower- income areas.

This landscape study of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) organizations provides a deeper understanding of the priorities of a broad cross-section of stakeholders, identifies current knowledge gaps, and puts forth a series of recommendations including:

• Support efforts aimed at advancing policies that matter to AAPI communities.
• Invest in the power of multi-racial coalitions by strengthening collaboration and coordination between AAPI organizations and other historically marginalized groups. 
• Address the need for increased funding support for AAPI organizations and more equitable flows to those at the grassroots and local levels.