Section 6: Conclusion

At a macro-level, there is a dearth of funding in the environmental space, and accordingly, a relative lack of strong organizations providing strategic investment opportunities. Our interviews with key leaders across the sector echoed this sentiment. This is exacerbated by the deep lack of trust in our current political environment, leaving little room for the coalition-building necessary to advocate for sustainable climate solutions. President Trump is one of the most polarizing political figures in American history, generating deep distrust between the parties.

Nevertheless, our analysis does find areas of current and potential future progress. As the federal government has retreated from taking the lead on climate change, states and businesses have forged ahead, maintaining some of the momentum. Additionally, our analysis indicates that the Innovations approach of change provides a potential bipartisan pathway forward. Perhaps the most promising element in this sector is that polling data indicates that many conservatives are already interested in different elements of policy reform in this space.

However, we find that the current actors in the conservative environmental movement are not strong enough to make serious inroads at a national level. There is a shortage of funding in the space, and accordingly, a relative lack of strong organizations providing strategic investment opportunities. Simply put: The infrastructure does not currently exist for high-leverage opportunities to engage conservatives on this issue.