Action for the Climate Emergency

Polling data confirms that young people care more about climate change than any other group [1] 70% of people ages 13-25 agree that climate change is real and the result of human activity. [2] If effectively engaged, this group has the potential to change the narrative from climate denial to climate action. ACE seeks to build youth power in the climate movement by:

Educating a generation on the science, impacts, and solutions of climate change;

Building an unstoppable action network of young people;

Training young people to be effective leaders in local climate campaigns; and

Empowering youth to share their stories of climate impacts and action in a way that conveys urgency and inspires hope.

ACE works nationally, but also focuses on key states that are most impacted by fossil fuel development and climate change, and where youth can have influence, including FL, MI, NV, NC, PA and WI.

[1] Pew Research Center, https://goo.gl/F3uXg9
[2] Bladt, J. https://goo.gl/cnUrkp

Education: ACE's multimedia resource, Our Climate Our Future (www.ourclimateourfuture.org), is aligned with Next Generation Science Standards and is streamed in classrooms across the country. We provide resources to support teachers in identifying climate denial propaganda and teaching consensus climate science, including Our Climate Our Future curriculum and guides, customized lesson plans, and professional development opportunities.

Advocacy: Our Climate Our Future, coupled with social media outreach, builds the base of ACE's 300,000 member Youth Action Network. We have developed, tested and refined an engagement ladder that grows a young person’s influence over time, moving them toward taking the most important and timely civic actions in collaboration with grassroots partners across the country.

Leadership: Our in-person and digital Action Fellowship programs provide training and leadership development and connect young people to climate campaigns in their communities.

With 13 staff, a network of 17,000 teachers, 300,000 members of the Youth Action Network, and 4,000 trained young climate leaders from across the US, ACE has the capacity to implement high quality programs that educate young people on the science of climate change and empower them to take action.

Our impact has been demonstrated through peer-reviewed research with collaborators at Stanford, Yale and George Mason University. [1]

[1] Flora, J.A., Saphir, M., Lappé M., Roser-Renouf, C., Maibach, E.W. & Leiserowitz, A.A. “Evaluation of a national high school entertainment-education program: The Alliance for Climate Education.” Climatic Change. 127. Issue 3-4 (2014): pp 419-434.

Since 2008, ACE has educated 2.7 million students on the science and solutions of climate change, built an action network of over 300,000 youth, and tracked over 1 million climate actions. We are seeking to educate a generation, build an unstoppable youth action network, train and connect young climate leaders, and elevate stories from youth voices to change the narrative on climate change. Since 2018, ACE is testing unique online voter registration platforms and cutting-edge relational organizing tactics to support youth-led efforts to mobilize peers to use their powerful voices and votes to call for meaningful climate action in elections.