NextGen Climate

NextGen Climate
Non-profit, Political Action Committee
Founded 2013 (2013)
Founder Tom Steyer
Website nextgenclimate.org

NextGen Climate is an environmental advocacy nonprofit and political action committee created in 2013 by Tom Steyer supporting candidates and policies that take action against climate change. It has typically criticized Republican candidates, but has also targeted Democrats who have failed to take a stance on climate change. [1] The organization has also been an opponent of the Keystone XL pipeline. [2]

History

Businessman Tom Steyer founded NextGen Climate in 2013, and serves as president. A former hedge-fund manager, Steyer pledged to donate the majority of his wealth to charitable causes in 2010. [3] He also became involved in the issue of climate change.[4] Later, Steyer made the decision to pull his money from environmentally unsound investments and focus on pushing climate change issues and policies. [2]

2014 Election Cycle

NextGen Climate’s political arm, super PAC NextGen Climate Action Committee, began lending support to candidates in 2013. They backed Democrat Edward Markey in the special election to fill Secretary John Kerry’s senate seat, [5] [6] as well as Terry McAuliffe in the Virginia race for governor against Republican Ken Cuccinelli. [2] The super PAC was a contributor in the 2014 midterm elections, targeting demographics believed to be most likely to vote based on environmental concerns. U.S. senate races in Michigan, Iowa, New Hampshire and Colorado were targeted in an effort to help Democrats maintain their majority in the U.S. Senate. It also supported gubernatorial candidates in Maine, Florida and Pennsylvania. [5] During the 2014 election cycle, five of the nine democratic candidates won their elections. [7] As of 2014, NextGen claimed to have opened 40 offices and made contact with over 1.5 million voters.[8]

2016 Election Cycle

In 2015, NextGen Climate stated that it planned to “punish” Republican presidential candidates for climate change skepticism. [9] It also said that candidates would have to pledge to enact an energy policy that would lead to a shift in 50% renewable energy use in the U.S. by 2030, and 100% by 2050, in order to receive its support.[10] In April 2016, it launched a campaign to register voters on college campuses in seven political battleground states. [11]

References

  1. ↑ Confessore, Nicholas (17 February 2014). "Financier Plans Big Ad Campaign on Climate Change".
  2. 1 2 3 "Tom Steyer: An Inconvenient Billionaire". Men's Journal. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  3. ↑ "40 U.S. Billionaires Pledge Half Of Wealth To Charity". NPR.org. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  4. ↑ "Tom Steyer Biography - Founder, NextGen Climate". NextGen Climate. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  5. 1 2 Sheppard, Kate (2014-09-29). "Big Greens Are Spending Big Green In 2014 Midterms". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  6. ↑ "Did billionaire’s spending sway the Mass. Senate primary?". Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  7. ↑ "Tom Steyer Moves Beyond Climate". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  8. ↑ "Tom Steyer: Midterms mark the start of climate campaign". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  9. ↑ "Billionaire donor's climate group plans to punish GOP in 2016". MSNBC. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  10. ↑ The New York Times (2015-07-24). "Today in Politics: A Billionaire's Deep Pockets Come With a Big Catch". The New York Times - First Draft. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  11. ↑ "Tom Steyer launching $25 million effort to turn out young voters". Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
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