How to make climate action more appealing to everyday Americans

As we mark Earth Day, it’s worth noting that for many Americans, the holiday holds little meaning. For millions of us, the planet’s most significant environmental threat—climate change—has become an afterthought: Polls show that despite the increasing urgency of climate change, concern about the issue among registered voters has basically flatlined. There are many reasons for this, including the Trump administration’s strong opposition to climate action. Over the past year, the administration has ignored global climate efforts and dismantled policies that support renewable energy.

But this isn’t the only cause of our growing indifference. Over the past decade, climate-focused policymakers and advocates have failed to connect with many Americans—especially working- and middle-class Americans. Too many of us see climate action as an elitist concern, overly focused on shuttering coal, oil, and gas facilities. Decades of unscientific climate denialism by conservative leaders and right wing media outlets hasn’t helped, but those trying to combat climate change haven’t succeeded in offering a compelling alternative narrative that speaks broadly to middle- and working-class Americans.

Now, though, policymakers and advocates have an opportunity to reframe climate action so it’s not seen as a pet issue for virtue-signaling liberals, but as what it actually is: a powerful way to increase affordability and economic mobility for all Americans, while at the same time protecting our country and our planet.

Over the past year, affordability and economic instability have become hot-button issues for millions of Americans. The war in Iran has sharply increased gas prices and raised the specter of further major economic fallout. As more Americans worry about these issues (and especially about surging energy costs), it’s essential to remind them that climate action can provide a solution.

To rebuild a political consensus for climate action, U.S. activists and decisionmakers must embrace climate policies and narratives that focus on how climate action will increase affordability and expand opportunities for the working and middle classes—the very definition of the American Dream. They must make it clear that increasingly severe climate impacts are jeopardizing the traditional pathways that American families have relied on to get ahead: homeownership, a steady paycheck, a reasonable  cost of living, and a nurturing environment for small businesses.  

Over the past 50 years, the American middle class has steadily shrunk. From 1970 to 2020, middle-class households’ share of total income decreased from 62% to 42%, while upper-income households’ share grew from 29% to 50%. The situation is even worse for Black and nonwhite Latino or Hispanic families, who represent smaller shares of the middle class than their share of the U.S. population. Climate action can help slow or reverse this trend. Policies that lessen the costs of climate impacts and boost renewable energy can create millions of jobs, reduce household costs, and enhance quality of life for Americans of all stripes.

Yet despite this enormous promise, few politicians and advocates have framed climate action as a way to help working- and middle-class Americans. That’s a massive missed opportunity. This isn’t simply a communications failure—it’s also a policy failure. The Biden administration’s flagship climate policy, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), committed an estimated $372 billion in investments to climate action and included many laudable and effective strategies. But it focused too much on private and individual benefits, and not enough on helping communities, especially less wealthy communities. This oversight led many Americans, especially those who are less well-off or who live outside of urban areas, to question the value and relevance of climate action.

The IRA was popular with businesses, banks, and nonprofits, who received billions of dollars to build new solar and wind projects and kickstart investment in climate action. While this is crucial, it can take years or decades before such policies provide benefits to ordinary households. And while the IRA did include a highly successful tax rebate for homeowners who upgraded their energy efficiency, the program excluded renters and offered nothing to the 18 million homeowners who lacked the money to undertake home improvements.

The good news is that the problem is fixable. There are many ways to spread the tangible and immediate benefits of climate action to working- and middle-class American communities, and great ideas already exist across the U.S. For example, an innovative program in Alabama provides subsidies for low-income homeowners to retrofit their roofs to withstand hurricane winds, reducing their insurance premiums in the process. In New Orleans, a new community park in a low-income neighborhood has reduced the risk of flooding while also providing green space that reduces urban heat island effects. And until the Trump administration ended it earlier this year, a Michigan effort expanded access to renewable energy in low-income communities, which reduced electricity bills for residents. Scaling up programs like these can broaden the appeal of climate action, providing clear benefits to Americans across the economic and geographic spectrum.

It goes without saying that at least on a federal level, the current political situation is not conducive to climate action. But that could change in the near future. Policymakers and advocates should start thinking now about how to broaden the appeal of climate action by emphasizing how it will improve affordability and help a wide range of communities. In doing so, they can help ensure that climate action is seen as an essential and broadly relevant public good, rather than a trivial matter reserved for the elitist few.