From studying past social movements, the Lab has learned that the transformational change necessary to equitably address the climate crisis is more likely to occur when multiracial, cross-class (MRXC) movements* claim their collective power, expand the imagination of what’s possible, and organize and mobilize people at scale. In the last 5 years, the Sunrise Movement has demonstrated a commitment to learning and practice on multiracial, cross-class movement building. This week’s newsletter features reflections and lessons from Lab member and Deputy Organizer Director at Sunrise, Dejah Powell. As a Lab member yourself, you can read the full report* on how Sunrise has been working to build a movement across race and class, and the implications and learnings based on those efforts. This report was developed as part of the Lab’s Climate Justice Microgrant Program.

Just five policies across the economy can dramatically cut state greenhouse gas emissions. These include clean electricity standards; zero-emission vehicle standards; clean building equipment standards; industrial efficiency and emissions standards; and standards for methane detection, capture, and destruction. This report evaluates emissions trajectories and policy impacts for six states: Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. These states have widely varying emissions profiles. For example, Louisiana’s emissions are dominated by the industrial sector, while in Michigan, the building sector is a significant contributor. In New Mexico, home to significant oil and gas extraction, methane is a major source of GHG emissions.

Green Dash Northeast is a free tool that displays state-level data related to emissions and energy in the Northeast. This tool may be useful for staff at environmental NGOs, state and local governments, and community-based organizations seeking to better understand the status of climate and energy initiatives throughout the region. Green Dash Northeast aggregates publicly available data to present useful emissions and energy-related metrics. Metrics are displayed consistently for all Northeastern states, which allows for meaningful comparisons between states and additive regional values. Categories of data include: greenhouse gas emissions, electric energy, energy efficiency, non-electric fuels, battery storage, clean energy jobs, energy burdens and rates.

Kentuckians for the Commonwealth ran a Climate Crisis Deep Canvassing Project in Louisville, Bowling Green, and Hazard, Kentucky where they knocked on thousands of doors and had more than 600 conversations with low-income communities and communities of color. They developed a written report that synthesizes the lessons, themes, and best practices from their on-the-ground experience to inform future canvassing trainings and program design.

Here are 12 of Potential Energy’s favorite climate insights from 2022 data. First, human stories beat abstract concepts, every time. Second, science — and scientists — still matter a lot. Third, conservatives moved their climate beliefs… but education is critical. Fourth, what politicians love to say . . . had some real believability issues. Fifth, social, collectivist actions were much easier to create than individual behavior changes. Sixth, climate salience went down, but extreme weather was key. Seventh, the left and the right actually agreed on something: nuclear energy. Eighth, actually, the left and the right also happened to agree on one more thing: energy independence! Ninth, and one last thing we all happen to agree on: fairness and accountability. Tenth, the IRA was a massive climate win, but there’s a long road ahead. Eleventh, sadly, we found that stopping clean energy projects will be much easier than supporting them. Twelfth, lastly, we learned a lot about testing … and are even less enamored with the usual polls.

The nature of engagement with and donations to nonprofits have changed, as nonprofits’ digital presences have increased. Total online revenue for nonprofits decreased by 4% in 2022, and nonprofits reported especially sharp drops in revenue on Giving Tuesday and December 31. While one-time giving declined, monthly giving revenue increased by 12% — accounting for 28% of all online revenue in 2022. Digital advertising investment by nonprofits increased by 28%, and internet search remained the most reliable platform to generate a positive return on ad spend. Nonprofits sent 60 email messages per subscriber, including 29 fundraising appeals, and email generated 14% of all online revenue. While platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter dominated nonprofit social media engagement, 30% of participants reported being active on TikTok. Return on ad spending was highest for search ads: $2.75 for every dollar spent. Return on ad spending for Meta was $0.50 and $0.41 for Twitter. The majority of nonprofit website traffic came from users on mobile devices — 57%, with 43% of traffic from users on desktop devices. However, 75% of revenue came from users on desktop devices.

Based on political narratives in 2022, here are some key narrative predictions for 2023: the tension between American identity and personal identity, the ongoing erosion of trust in institutions, a lack of certainty about the future, precarity versus safety, and the type of experiences we are dreaming about in our communities and our lives. Some narratives within “American identity crisis” include “What is America?”, “Who is American?”, “The expanded self,” “Identity used to divide or unite,” “The never-ending woke wars,” and “Generational divides.” Some narratives within “Erosion of trust” include “Everything is broken,” “Ongoing attacks on media and journalism,” “The return of the moderate,” and “Taking care of us.” Other narrative categories include “Multipolar world,” “Big tech lives, big tech dies,” “Search for stability,” and “Experience and authenticity.”

Have you had concerns about a team project and didn’t share it with others? Or been part of a team where you couldn’t speak up with questions? These self-protective behaviors help us manage others’ perceptions of us. No one wants to look ignorant, incompetent, intrusive or negative. But withholding your voice can have significant negative consequences for the team. It deprives the team of the full range of the team members’ knowledge, skill and experience and makes it less likely that the team will learn and achieve its purpose.

Most protest movements have little success in achieving their aims, or otherwise positive outcomes—but a small percentage of protest movements will achieve outcomes large enough to warrant funding a portfolio of social movement organizations. This resource may be useful for grantmakers and advocates who want to pursue the most effective ways to bring about change for a given issue, particularly on climate change or animal welfare. There is solid evidence that protests can cause small changes in public opinion on an issue (swaying about 2-5% of the population). There is some evidence—but less—that protest movement activity can bring about policy change.

There are some key ways to improve on the current model for how to engage young people to vote. This report introduces and details a new framework for how institutions and communities can prepare young people—starting long before they turn 18—to become active and informed voters. There are profound inequities in access to civic learning and engagement opportunities for young people. Implementing a “growing voters” approach involves engaging potential (young) voters year-round, building culture of the importance of civic participation, contacting potential voters even before they turn 18, targeting young people who even haven’t voted before, and doing so everywhere (national and locally, not just in competitive electoral districts). This report describes these tactics in detail, for how to produce a long-term increase in young people voting.