CLIMATE CABINET ACTION



Climate Cabinet Action equips candidates to run, win, and legislate on addressing the climate crisis.

We create climate champions before they even take office, ensuring that a just, job-creating clean energy transition is a priority in American politics.

Who We Are

Climate Cabinet Action began as a volunteer-based team in 2018, when a Texas state legislature candidate asked for climate talking points and policy solutions that were relevant to her district. We realized that this need was not unique: many candidates want to run on strong climate platforms but don’t have the time to simultaneously run a full-time campaign and do cutting-edge policy analysis. Thus, Climate Cabinet Action was born.

Climate Cabinet Action has supported candidates and pushed climate on the campaign trail in three campaign cycles, including 2018 state legislature races, 2019 presidential primaries, and 2020 state and congressional races.

In 2020, we worked with 100 campaigns. On average, these campaigns more than doubled their climate-related social media engagement after our outreach.

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What We Do

Think of us as a climate campaign staffer - at scale. We deliver local climate talking points, messaging, and policy solutions for any district in the US.
Through early, proactive outreach and strategic support for key climate races, we raise the salience of climate change in American politics. We provide hyperlocal data and winning arguments, helping to strengthen climate champions in state legislatures across the U.S. - before they even take office.

We focus on climate solutions as they interact with other critical issues:

Jobs & Economic Growth

Investing in a clean energy economy will create jobs and help our communities thrive.

Public Health

Cleaning up our air means protecting our health - a fact which is more apparent than ever as we grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Racial justice

Communities of color are disproportionately burdened with the toxic facilities that power our society. We are working towards a clean, healthy future for everyone.

We're currently providing campaign support for the following regions:

U.S. House of Representatives
Texas State Legislature
Colorado State Legislature
North Carolina State Legislature
New Jersey State Legislature
Virginia House of Delegates

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Testimonials

"The climate crisis is the defining issue of our time, and we can't wait any longer to respond in a way that meets the scale of this crisis. Americans overwhelmingly support action to protect our air and water for future generations, and every candidate up and down the ballot needs a plan and the tools to win the debate over the future of our planet.

Climate Cabinet is helping candidates rise to meet this challenge. I was proud to run for office as a clean energy advocate, I encourage anyone seeking office to do the same."

Congressman Mike Levin

“Until Climate Cabinet reached out to us, we weren’t going to make climate change part of our campaign – not because we didn’t care, but because it’s difficult to find climate information that’s relevant to our district. Now, climate is a key part of our platform. Climate Cabinet has helped us integrate climate into our strategy to win.”

Danny Diaz, Campaign Manager, Sara Stapleton Barrera for TX SD 27

Climate Cabinet 40

Americans are worried about climate change, and seeking out the most effective ways to take action. That’s why we researched and identified the top 40 “highest climate impact” state legislature races this election cycle:

The Climate Cabinet 40 includes the top 20 pro-climate incumbents that we need to protect, and 20 challengers that are running against some of America’s worst anti-climate legislators.

Explore the “Climate Cabinet 40” using the full list or the interactive map below.

Learn More About the “Climate Cabinet 40” Score & Rank Methodology
Climate Cabinet 40 full listDownload the full Climate Cabinet Score Database

Climate Cabinet Score & Rank Methodology

Climate Cabinet Action has conducted two years of extensive research and aggregated data on state-level legislators and candidates to score and rank them on their climate voting track record. And now we've created a tool that lets you easily research candidates and take informed climate action.

Explore the “Climate Cabinet 40” using the full list or explore state by state through our interactive map.

Learn More About the “Climate Cabinet 40” Score & Rank Methodology
Climate Cabinet Score
Climate Cabinet Score

The “Climate Cabinet Score” shows how often each incumbent legislator has voted in favor of good climate policy or against attacks. A Climate Cabinet Score of 100 means that every time a climate-related bill has come up for a vote, the legislator has always voted pro-climate. A Climate Cabinet Score of 0 means that the legislator has never voted pro-climate. These scores were compiled using the latest available state legislative scorecard from leading environmental groups in each state. Each environmental bill is scored once, and each “climate” bill is given double weight.

Climate Cabinet Rank
Climate Cabinet Rank

The Climate Cabinet Rank is used to determine the most competitive climate races this cycle - to demonstrate where your dollars can go farthest to electing leaders committed to tackling climate change. Two factors go into the “Climate Cabinet Rank.” First, the Climate Cabinet Score is used to identify which incumbent legislators are “Best on Climate” (have a score of 100) and “Worst on Climate” (have a failing grade of anything below 50%). Next, the “Trump/Clinton Win Rate” is used to determine how vulnerable each incumbent legislator is. A high Climate Cabinet Rank highlights the highly vulnerable state legislators who are either “Best on Climate” (we need to keep them in office) or “Worst on Climate” (we need them out of office). A Climate Cabinet Rank of between 1 and 40 indicates that these are the 40 most competitive climate races this cycle. These “Top 40” candidates need your donations ASAP in order to pass legislation to solve the climate crisis.

Trump/Clinton Win Rate
Trump/Clinton Win Rate

The Trump/Clinton Win Rate shows the 2016 vote breakdown for each district. If a district has a “R+8%” rate, that means that Donald Trump won this district by 8%. Similarly, a “D+2%” rating shows that Hillary Clinton won this district by 2%. This helps determine how competitive the race is.

Vote Status
Vote Status

The “Race Status” field shows you how the race is currently rated. A “Tossup” score means that either candidate could easily win, whereas “Lean R” and “Lean D” indicates that the races are likely to fall in either category.

Votes
Votes

The “Votes” section gives you some examples of climate votes that each incumbent has taken - showing the highs and lows of each incumbent’s voting record.

Long Form Articles

Follow us on Medium as we dive into climate data and politics:

Follow us on Medium

Recent post: "Why Election Data is Climate Data"

The Divided States Of Climate Action

A Data Dive On How U.S. State Legislators Are Dealing With The Climate Crisis (Or Not)

Collaboration with Beto O’Rourke: An Open Letter on Climate to Texas (August 12, 2020)

“Dear Texas: We need state representatives who bring clean energy jobs to Texas — and tackle climate change at the same time. Three things have become clear: Texans are worried about climate change and want to see government action. Communities of color and low-income communities already bear the burden of environmental pollution — and will be hit hardest by a failure to solve the climate crisis. Climate solutions will revitalize our economy…”

On Twitter with Beto O’Rourke: Top 10 worst climate voters in Texas (August 12, 2020)

“Three years after Hurricane Harvey, it’s past time Texas elects leaders who will take climate change seriously - and create good-paying jobs while doing it. Luckily, 10 of the worst climate voters in the Texas House are running in flippable districts. (Thread)”

News & Media

Check out our recent news coverage:

Interview on ClimateNow Podcast:
Government's Role in Climate Action - With Caroline Spears (May 25, 2021)

"Hosts Katherine Gorman and James Lawler discuss how politicians can create climate campaigns and what role regional, state, and the federal governments play in advancing climate action."

2021 Grist Fixers:
#Grist50: Caroline Spears (March 23, 2021)

"She's bringing climate to a political platform near you. Caroline Spears heard wildly divergent things about climate change while growing up in Houston. The confusion sparked her curiosity and led her to solar finance, where she soon recognized the enormous power that states wield over clean energy."

Interview with One Breath Houston:We can't solve the climate crisis wthout state legislators (January 13, 2021)

"Caroline Spears grew up in Houston, the oil and gas capital of the world. In 2018, a candidate running for election to the state legislature asked her for help talking with voters about climate action. Spears soon realized that many smaller, down-ballot campaigns needed that help..."

Interview on thE Great Battlefield Podcast: Fighting Climate change at the local level - with Caroline Spears (January 18, 2021)

"Caroline Spears joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about her career fighting climate change and founding Climate Cabinet where they provide tech-enabled climate policy solutions to candidates across America."

New Media Ventures 2020 Portfolio Announcement:Climate Cabinet Action Fund is one of 14 INvestees (November 18, 2020)

"1400 applications. 100 interviews. 14 investments. Our 2020 portfolio is an investment in the future of the progressive movement. These outstanding leaders are developing infrastructure, building Black and Indigenous power, protecting our democracy, and transforming the local media landscape..."

Political Climate Podcast Interview:Electing Climate Candidates (October 8, 2020)

"How do you elect political candidates who will make tackling climate change a priority? In this episode, we speak to two groups attempting to figure that out and put climate change at the center of races up and down the ballot. In 2018, Caroline Spears launched the Climate Cabinet Action Fund to offer bespoke climate data, policy ideas and messaging suggestions to candidates and lawmakers. The organization currently focuses on the state level, where races are low-budget but highly consequential..."

CNN feature: New Climate Group Will Offer District-specific Policy 'menus' To Every Congressional Candidate (July 2, 2020)

“As concern over climate change grows and high profile progressive political figures embrace ambitious ideas, candidates with limited resources and time are facing a new challenge: how to craft winning political messages tailored to their districts and backed by the most recent science, health and economic data…”

Collaboration with Beto O’Rourke: An Open Letter on Climate to Texas (August 12, 2020)

“Dear Texas: We need state representatives who bring clean energy jobs to Texas — and tackle climate change at the same time. Three things have become clear: Texans are worried about climate change and want to see government action. Communities of color and low-income communities already bear the burden of environmental pollution — and will be hit hardest by a failure to solve the climate crisis. Climate solutions will revitalize our economy…”

On Twitter with Beto O’Rourke: Top 10 worst climate voters in Texas (August 12, 2020)

“Three years after Hurricane Harvey, it’s past time Texas elects leaders who will take climate change seriously - and create good-paying jobs while doing it. Luckily, 10 of the worst climate voters in the Texas House are running in flippable districts. (Thread)”

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Climate Cabinet Action is committed to helping candidates run, win, and legislate on the climate crisis.

Send us a message if you have questions about how we can support your campaign, are interested in volunteering, or want to learn more!

For press inquiries, contact: press@climatecabinet.org