Climate advocates, green-minded elected officials and energy industry representatives will descend on Chicago next week for the Democratic National Convention.
They’re going with different messages, but they all share the same goal: cutting through the noise of a political environment saturated with special interests to get their cause to break through.
Climate hawks say the stakes have never been higher for their priorities. Vice President Kamala Harris, the standard-bearer for the Biden administration’s gains in the fight to slow down global warming, is going against former President Donald Trump, who has twice in this past week alone downplayed the effects of the climate crisis and has pledged to roll back a litany of environmental regulations if returned to power.
Environmental advocates are traveling to the Windy City armed with polling that shows voters care about the debate. They, along with their allies in elected office, are prepared to make a plea for candidates up and down the ballot in November to speak often about the success of the Inflation Reduction Act, which celebrates its two-year anniversary Friday.
At the same time, the leaders of associations representing various corners of the energy sector will be in town making sure their members’ interests are not forgotten.
DNC programming
The prime-time lineup of speakers on the main stage of the DNC has yet to be announced, but people familiar with convention planning told POLITICO’s E&E News they expect a portion of one of the four evenings to be dedicated to climate messaging.
There could be speaking slots for advocates but also for Cabinet officials to talk up the Biden administration’s environmental achievements.
Those officials are likely to include Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and EPA Administrator Michael Regan.
The DNC Council on the Environment and Climate Crisis will hold sessions Monday and Wednesday afternoon, where attendees will hear from a mix of lawmakers and environmental leaders.
The lineup on Monday includes speeches from Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers who has pushed for schools to lead on sustainability, and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), a progressive stalwart who helped launch a congressional investigation into an alleged decades-long climate misinformation campaign waged by Big Oil.
On Wednesday, speakers will feature Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), two of the most vocal climate advocates on Capitol Hill, alongside Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.). And the progressive polling firm Data for Progress will unveil data related to climate messaging and the 2024 election.
Michelle Deatrick, chair of the climate council, told POLITICO’s E&E News that between in-person attendance and people livestreaming, she expected the sessions to reach “the thousands.”
“We can’t afford to put climate deniers back in the White House … people who are not just ignoring the reality of the climate crisis — not just denying it — but are actively trying to make it worse,” Deatrick said.
“One of the hopes and goals of our meetings at the DNC is to share the really good news about the incredible progress that’s been made and make sure we get that message out there.”
Green groups
Representatives from the leading environmental organizations will be on hand next week to celebrate the climate achievements of the last four years and to rally Democrats around the need to work hard to win another four.
On Tuesday afternoon, Climate Power, the Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund and the League of Conservation Voters will jointly host a reception.
On Wednesday, Climate Power, NRDC Action Fund, EDF Action and the political arm of LCV will be joined by the Global Strategy Group to unveil the findings of “a new report exploring overall attitudes on climate and clean energy” — the culmination of an exercise wherein they “simulat[ed] a debate between Democrats and Republicans on the issue.”
“The results show that such a debate is a political winner for Democrats and our analysis will cover the strongest messaging for Democrats to deploy when discussing climate and clean energy,” according to a description of the presentation.
It’s being organized as part of “DemPalooza,” daytime convention programming led by the DNC, the Harris campaign and other partner groups, all designed to give convention delegates new tools to mobilize voters back home ahead of the November elections.
“LCV and our allies will be reminding people at every opportunity during the DNC convention that the contrast on climate, clean energy and environmental justice between the Harris-Walz ticket and the Trump-Vance ticket couldn’t be starker,” said Tiernan Sittenfeld, LCV’s senior vice president of government affairs, in a statement.
“The convention is an opportunity to build on Vice President Harris’s momentum,” she added, “and ensure that climate voters are more fired up than ever to knock on doors, make phone calls and do everything they can to help her win.”
On Thursday, DemPalooza will host another forum titled “Voting for the Planet: The Intersection of Climate and Democracy.”
Elsewhere, the Illinois Environmental Council, a state partner of LCV, will on Wednesday morning host an event at the Chicago headquarters of Elevate, a nonprofit working to encourage affordable clean energy infrastructure to disadvantaged communities.
The event will feature local developers, homeowners and elected officials who will provide examples of how the incentives codified in the IRA are already helping Chicagoans make home improvements that will save them money while also helping the planet.
Industry presence
Renewable energy leaders will also have a presence at the DNC. Invenergy, a developer headquartered in Chicago, will serve as the “clean energy sponsor.”
It will host a “clean power happy hour” event Wednesday being billed as “an electrifying event in celebration of the IRA,” jointly sponsored by the Solar Energy Industry Association, Intersect Power and Counterspark.
Kelly Speakes-Backman, Invenergy’s executive vice president for public affairs, said “25-30” elected officials have RSVP’d for the reception, a roster that includes lawmakers at the local, state and federal level. Following the happy hour, the event will transition into a watch party.
“We’re excited to celebrate the IRA and its historic impact on our industry,” said Speakes-Backman, “but we also want to make sure that regardless of who wins the election, we’re all in for good climate and clean energy policy.”
Separately, SEIA will be running banner ads to pop up on all devices — smartphones and laptops — at the convention center touting the contributions of solar power to the U.S. economy.
“Powering our workforce and protecting our environment,” one ad will read, while another will say, “Powering an equitable energy future.”
“It’s a mainstream energy source and job creator like never before,” said Stephanie Bosh, vice president of communications for SEIA, in a statement. “Not a nice to have, but a need to have and both policymakers in Washington and voters on the left AND right agree that solar has a seat at the table now.”
United Airlines, which is headquartered in Chicago and has aimed to be a leader in the airline industry’s efforts to decarbonize, is also tapping into smartphones to get a message across.
For the next week, travelers leaving O’Hare International Airport on any United flight will receive a text message linking to a video from Illinois Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, urging passengers to lobby their state elected officials to pass a sustainable aviation fuel tax credit similar to one he has enacted in his state.
A coalition of airlines, airports and businesses that rely on air travel earlier this year formed the SAF Coalition to lobby for an expanded tax credit at the federal level.
Other DNC participants will include the American Petroleum Institute and Exxon Mobil, with the former joining in a number of events and meetings and Exxon Mobil sponsoring two panel discussions hosted by Punchbowl News. One of those discussions will feature Vijay Swarup, Exxon’s senior director of climate strategy and technology.
Though Invenergy and SEIA were also on the ground at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, DNC delegates could chafe at the presence of the oil and gas industry at their festivities — especially as Democrats are calling for federal investigations into oil majors over allegations of price-fixing schemes and not doing enough about climate change.
A spokesperson for API said the industry trade association is committed to “engaging with both sides of the aisle on our policy road map to secure American energy leadership and help reduce inflation.”
