1. BUILDING BACK BETTER

As we wrote back on December 19, the Build Back Better Act is not a “nice-to-have” but a “need-to-have” for America’s future. It is fiscally sound, fully paid for, and critical to helping the US meet its clean energy goals. Moreover, BBBA funding helps unlock the full potential for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to ensure we’re working toward a robust, equitable clean energy economy that supports all communities across the US.

What’s more, the United Mine Workers Association noted that the plan includes many  great provisions for America’s coal miners and energy veterans. We strongly believe that the window remains open for a compromise bill to pass this year. We continue to work with our partners and key policymakers to help this landmark piece of legislation cross the finish line, while retaining $500+ billion in clean energy investments.

2. REMOVING OBSTACLES TO ADVANCED NUCLEAR

Thanks to the bipartisan infrastructure deal, the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Project is now almost fully funded through 2025. The big questions are whether the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is up to the task of licensing them and will the companies have access to the fuel they need. We’re working directly with the key players to 1) remove any obstacles to guarantee that advanced reactors are quickly, efficiently, and safely approved and operational by 2028 and 2) ensure that the US can make the fuel advanced nuclear reactors need to operate. 

Development of advanced reactors in the US is coming at exactly the right time. The market for advanced nuclear energy is rapidly growing around the world. Just this past week, the EU Commission included nuclear energy as a climate-friendly investment in its draft of its Sustainable Finance Taxonomy, a huge win for climate action. As countries seek to reduce their carbon emissions and invest in clean energy development, they’re looking to turn to nuclear power as a reliable and dispatchable source of clean electricity, industrial heat, clean fuel production, and desalination.

3. FIGHTING CLIMATE DOOM

We’ve never been climate doomers. Apocalyptic framing that compares the long-term threat of climate change to the immediate, massive disruption and health crisis of COVID-19 won’t work. The public is already exhausted by the toll COVID-19 has taken on their lives, our politics, and our economy. Perpetuating eco-anxiety through apocalyptic narratives risks alienation or burnout, not action. 

But Adam McKay’s new film, Don’t Look Up, seems to make a direct connection between the climate movement and efforts to stop an apocalyptic event (in this case, a “planet-killer” comet hitting the Earth and wiping out life across the globe). Climate and energy thought leaders have both criticized and revered the film for its portrayal of scientists fighting corporate interests in an attempt to save mankind from an immediate and catastrophic threat.

While the film might capture the frustration of those working in climate and clean energy, it actually reiterates why apocalyptic framing doesn’t work. People will turn away, even when the evidence is in plain sight. Apparently, that’s true when a comet the size of Mt. Everest is rapidly approaching the planet, and it’s true when scientists spend several decades warning of the catastrophic impacts of climate change.

So how do we find a way to make everyone enthusiastic about climate action?

As our own polling tells us, voters respond well to a positive vision of the future, not a damning condemnation of our existing energy infrastructure. That’s why we’ll be aggressively pushing back against climate doom and instead selling the positive benefits of a future clean energy economy.