Climate and conservation ballot measures approved even in places Trump won

By Avery Ellfeldt & E&E News

CLIMATE FEED | President-elect Donald Trump won nearly 70 percent of the vote in Clay County, Florida, last week.

Another big winner in the Republican county near Jacksonville was a ballot measure that will raise taxes by $45 million to fund projects to improve water quality, protect wildlife and reduce damage caused by floods.

Nearly two dozen conservation and climate-related ballot initiatives were approved on Election Day in states ranging from Florida and Georgia to California and Colorado. The measures aim to expand parks, preserve natural areas and prepare communities for the impacts of climate change.

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“This is not a partisan issue,” said Pegeen Hanrahan, associate director of conservation finance at the Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit that advocates for conservation and climate-focused ballot measures. “We’re seeing victories in red states and blue states.”

Many initiatives have passed in Democratic areas like Denver, which approved a measure to install and improve air conditioning in public schools. The city experienced record temperatures this fall. Several measures won support from state and county voters who supported Trump, who called climate change a “hoax” and promised to scrap pollution regulations and President Joe Biden’s climate policies and programs .

This success reflects a growing awareness among residents and officials that global warming poses a growing risk to people, property, budgets and tax bases – and will get worse without intervention.

“Everyone, regardless of their political orientation, understands this and is willing to make these kinds of investments,” said Justin Marlowe, who directs the Center for Municipal Finance at the University of Chicago. “It’s an economic development strategy.”

Hanrahan said his organization is trying to address the “impacts of climate change” through ballot measures. “In some places we don’t discuss the direct cause of these impacts,” Hanrahan said.

The Clay County measure appeared on the ballot as a land conservation referendum aimed at protecting water quality, wildlife habitat, forests and farms.

Four measures were approved by Florida counties that supported Trump.

In Lake County, near Orlando, voters passed a measure aimed at preserving natural areas, improving water quality and protecting wildlife habitat. The county will finance the work by issuing $50 million in bonds that it will repay through an increase in property taxes that will cost the average homeowner $21 a year for 20 years, according to an analysis by the Trust for Public Land.

The Clay County measure has similar goals and allows the county to sell bonds that could cost the average homeowner up to $33 a year, according to the trust. A referendum in Osceola County, south of Orlando, authorizes $70 million in bonds to renew a land conservation program.

Voters in Martin County, north of Palm Beach, approved a measure with similar goals. But instead of selling bonds, the county will increase its sales tax by a half-cent over the next decade, to raise $183 million.

None of Florida’s measures mention climate change. And that’s intentional.

“We don’t talk about climate change a lot,” said David Weinstein, the land trust’s director of western conservation finance. “We’re talking about the worst effects of climate change, and that’s what resonates with voters.”

Nonetheless, the ballot measures aim to fund projects that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, prepare communities for climate impacts – or both.

“The main benefit of land protection for climate is that obviously natural lands absorb carbon, absorb floodwaters (and) create healthier habitat for wildlife movement,” said the trust’s Hanrahan land.

Other approved ballot measures aim to reduce the risk of wildfires in Colorado, preserve Illinois’ forests and fund parks, community centers and more in New Mexico.

California voters approved four related ballot measures, including one that mentions “climate” multiple times. Proposition 4 received 58% of the vote and allows the state to issue $10 billion in bonds to fund projects to prevent wildfires, provide clean drinking water and protect California “from significant threats from climate change.

As climate impacts intensify, Marlowe, of the University of Chicago, expects ballot measures to combat climate change will become more common and remain popular with voters.

“Some estimates say we’re going to have to borrow twice as much money as we currently borrow each year to deal with” climate impacts, Marlowe said. “If you’re a mayor, city councilor, city manager or CFO, you can’t wait for action from Washington.”

Reprinted from E&E News courtesy of POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2024. E&E News provides essential information for energy and environmental professionals.