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Change the Climate 2020

LCV Expands Climate Work in 2020 Primary, Launches $150K Digital Ad Campaign in Nevada, New Hampshire

Sep 12, 2019

Contact: Emily Samsel, emily_samsel@lcv.org, 202-454-4573

Washington, D.C. – Ahead of the third Democratic presidential debate, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) today announced a new $150,000 digital ad campaign elevating the local impacts of climate change and the opportunities in the clean energy economy in the run-up to early primary and caucus contests in New Hampshire and Nevada.

The ads are part of LCV’s expanded $2.5 million Change the Climate 2020 program calling on every presidential candidate to prioritize addressing the climate crisis and its outsized impact on low-income communities and communities of color beginning on day one as president. LCV has more than 2,000 volunteers in three early states who are engaging directly with the candidates on their policy positions. Since the program’s launch in May, every leading presidential candidate has released a comprehensive climate plan, and the climate crisis is a frequent topic of conversation on the campaign trail.  

“We’ve come a long way in just a few months,” said Tiernan Sittenfeld, LCV SVP of Government Affairs. “The 2020 Democratic field has prioritized bold action on climate through their policy proposals, at campaign events across the country, during debates, and at last week’s unprecedented prime time cable news climate town hall as never before. With all of the top candidates on one stage during tonight’s debate, we expect a serious conversation about the growing cost of inaction and the need for the next president to prioritize climate solutions on day one and every day as president.”  

In the final months before the early caucuses and primaries begin, Change the Climate 2020 ads will launch on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter in New Hampshire and Nevada. The first round of ads point to local economic benefits of transitioning to a clean energy future — like the 3,028 solar jobs created in Clark County, NV in 2018, according to the Solar Foundation. A New Hampshire ad will highlight impacts on the outdoor recreation economy in recent years, such as the ski industry which lost $48 million from 2001 to 2016 due to warmer winters, according to a study from Protect Our Winters. Screenshots of initial ads from the campaign can be found here

New reports show the cost of inaction on climate is far more expensive than the investments needed to combat the crisis. As the presidential candidates are laser focused on the early states, these ads are elevating the direct financial impacts the crisis is having on New Hampshire and Nevada communities. 

LCV’s Change the Climate 2020 program is encouraging every presidential candidate to make climate action a top-tier priority throughout the primary by tracking and publicizing relevant candidate policies and updates at ChangetheClimate2020.com, engaging directly with the candidates and their campaigns, conducting regular polling of primary voters, and telling the stories of people and communities across the country impacted by climate change, especially the low-income communities and communities of color that bear a disproportionate burden of polluters’ unchecked actions. Change the Climate 2020 currently has organizing programs on the ground in Nevada, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.

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Change the Climate 2020 is elevating climate action in the presidential primary elections and ensuring that candidates fully appreciate the scope of the climate crisis, make climate change a top priority, and commit to an ambitious plan to address the crisis on day one as president. None of the activities conducted through this program are intended to convey endorsement, support or opposition to any particular candidate — the goal is to promote the issue of climate action as described above.