NextGen Climate’s Weekly Recap: Why Millennials Are Driving The Democratic Agenda

As the convention moved forward, climate change continued to top the agenda. On Tuesday evening, former President Bill Clinton reminded voters that Hillary Clinton “put climate change at the center of our foreign policy” when she served as Secretary of State. On Wednesday, convention attendees viewed a short film from director James Cameron highlighting the risks of climate change—and the dangers posed by Donald Trump’s energy agenda. When President Obama took the stage later that evening he struck a similar chord, highlighting his administration’s effort to bring “nearly 200 nations together around a climate agreement that could save this planet for our children.” Yet, he emphasized that we need to go further if we want to prevent climate disaster: we must to bring together a broad coalition of voices, including millennials, to push for climate solutions. On the final night of the convention, during Hillary Clinton’s historic speech accepting the Democratic presidential nomination, she laid out a vision for our country where “we can save our planet while creating millions of good-paying clean energy jobs.”

Now that both parties have held their conventions, the differences between them on the issues couldn’t be more clear. There’s one key voting group that has huge potential for Democrats this year: millennials. This week, NextGen Climate released the first poll conducted among millennials in battleground states this election cycle. The results showed millennials firmly believe we need to elect a president with a plan to address climate change and build a clean energy economy. Young voters overwhelming support protecting our climate—they even view the EPA more favorably than Beyonce!

The millennial generation has the potential to be an electoral powerhouse—and when millennials vote, they win. To explore the best ways to reach these young voters, NextGen Climate and BuzzFeed hosted a panel in Philadelphia this week with a diverse group of young leaders, including DREAMer Ellie Perez and Svante Myrick, Mayor of Ithaca, NY. Mayor Myrick explained why it’s so crucial for millennials to get active in the political system: “This generation is the most progressive and can change this country, but nobody goes anywhere if they’re not invited.” As the general election continues, Democrats should know that winning over the millennial generation goes hand-in-hand with taking bold stances in favor of climate action.