Backing Climate Champions in Local Elections, with Caroline Spears

What is Climate Cabinet? Most climate advocates focus their energy on Washington– but often, real change happens closer to home. Climate Cabinet, founded by Caroline Spears, is dedicated to backing and electing climate champions at the state and local level, where the work of cutting emissions, lowering energy costs, and building clean transportation largely gets done. Focusing Locally  While presidential races and Senate battles dominate national attention, decisions about electricity grids, transit systems, housing density, and building codes are being made day-to-day by city councils, county boards, state legislatures, and utility commissions.  Climate Cabinet describes their approach as “Moneyball for Climate”-- borrowing the analytics term made famous in baseball, where data is used to find undervalued players with outsized potential. Applied to politics, it means identifying overlooked races where a relatively small investment can shift climate policy. Candidate selection is non-partisan in practice. Rather than relying on party affiliation, Climate Cabinet examines candidate’s voting records, looking at how candidates have acted when major issues came before their city council, county board, or state legislature. They then back promising candidates early, providing financial support and policy expertise to help them build a winning campaign. One of the most surprising– and consequential– offices Climate Cabinet focuses on is the utility commission. In select states, these commissioners are elected directly by voters, giving the public a rare and often overlooked say in how electricity is generated and priced.  How it Makes a Difference  State and local elections are often decided by thin margins and operate on small budgets compared to federal races. So unlike at the federal level, volunteer hours, early endorsements, and targeted outreach can be incredibly effective at building support for specific candidates. Climate Cabinet’s win rate reflects this– according to Spears, the organization has won 62% of its top priority races, spanning municipal, county, and state offices.  And because state and local officials are often closer to the problems their constituents face, the case for climate action is often easier to make. A state legislator can point to lower electricity bills from renewable energy, a city council member can garner support for more efficient bus service, a utility commissioner can push for faster grid buildout. Climate action, then, becomes a direct way to lower electricity bills, improve air quality, and expand transit access.  Challenges With hundreds of thousands of elected positions across the country, even a well-resourced organization can only engage in a fraction of the races that matter. Spears also notes the difficulty of cutting through the noise in a fractured media environment. Many of Climate Cabinet’s candidates are running for offices most voters don’t think about, such as state budget committees and utility boards– making voter outreach and name recognition an uphill battle even in favorable districts. The political environment itself remains a structural barrier. Running for office at any level has become more difficult, with political violence on the rise and entrenched interests– fossil fuel companies and real estate developers, to name a few– actively working to block climate-friendly candidates.  Spears’ View For Spears, the goal is to build a political environment in which supporting clean energy, affordable housing near transit, and zero-carbon transportation is the natural, low-resistance choice for any elected official.  She’s also clear-eyed about what motivates the best candidates she works with: a real commitment to their communities, not necessarily ambition for higher office. Spears is particularly focused on transportation– the largest single source of climate pollution in the U.S.-- and on finding candidates who understand that the path to zero-carbon transit looks different in each state, requiring local leadership to deliver. About Our Guest Caroline Spears is the founder and Executive Director of Climate Cabinet, an organization that makes local climate policy solutions actionable for policymakers. She earned her B.S. and M.S. in Atmosphere and Energy Engineering from Stanford University. Before founding Climate Cabinet, she worked in solar energy.  Other Resources & Further Reading Climate Cabinet website: Climate Cabinet The Chisholm Legacy Project: Demystifying and Democratizing Public Utility Commissions The Guardian: Inside the climate group working everywhere but DC: ‘You can still have huge wins’  Caroline Spears biography: Caroline Spears For a transcript please visit, climatebreak.org/backing-climate-champions-in-local-elections-with-caroline-spears/