Our Charter and Platform 2026 Kitchen Table Talks

Kitchen Table Topics - Climate and Environment 2026

Democrats Abroad’s Committee for Platform Planning Process Online (C3PO) wants to know what issues matter to you as a Democrat living abroad. Your input can help shape DA’s Platform. Run a Kitchen Table Talk - event in a box here - and make your voice heard! Scroll down to see optional details on this topic.  

Don't see what you are looking for? You can discuss any topic of interest! Just record the conversation feedback on our Post-Event Feedback Intake Form.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  • What do you think (and understand) about the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that helps lower emissions, accelerate renewable energy, empower workers, advance environmental justice, and strengthen climate resilience?

  • How should Democrats Abroad members help advance climate emergency advocacy and climate justice globally?
  • Do you think we should ban drilling permits for fossil fuels extraction on federal public lands and waters?

  • What do you think about the United States and other developed nations, responsible for the vast majority of historic carbon emissions, providing their fair share of financial resources to  developing nations most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.  

  • What do you think about curbing the meat industry and growth of regenerative agriculture?

  • How do you think we can balance the risk of industry in the U.S. on biodiversity with the economic opportunities of biodiversity conservation. 

BACKGROUND

Climate Crisis Legislation and Transforming the Energy Sector

  • Climate breakdown and biodiversity collapse are an existential threat to the global environment, human and nonhuman life, security and economies;
  • The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has determined that in order to avoid the most severe impacts of a changing climate the world must cut greenhouse gas emissions from human sources in half by 2030 and achieve net-zero global emissions by 2050;
  • The dangerous and expensive threat of climate change is compelling us to eliminate sources of anthropogenic carbon pollution in order to avoid serious ecosystem degradation or even collapse;
  • Catastrophes continue to engulf our planet, including rising sea levels, intensifying storms, floods, landslides, melting glaciers, fires, desertification and more;
  • Even our life-support system on earth is jeopardized by a warming of more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels
Legislation
  • The Inflation Reduction Act is a landmark  United States federal law which aims to curb inflation by possibly reducing the federal government budget deficit, lowering prescription drug prices, and investing into domestic energy production while promoting clean energy. It was passed by the 117th United States Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on August 16, 2022. The Bill invests nearly a trillion dollars in climate change mitigation and clean energy initiatives.
  • The Bi-Partisan Infrastructure Law The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 was the largest federal investment in climate and clean energy in U.S. history, directing hundreds of billions toward renewable energy, clean vehicles, energy efficiency, and emissions reduction initiatives. While many of its programs are still being implemented, several key elements have been altered or challenged since 2025 — highlighting the ongoing need for advocacy to defend and strengthen climate policy.
  • Environmental justice under the new legislations include the government-wide Justice40 Initiative, which aims to provide 40 percent of the overall benefits of Federal investments relating to climate change, clean energy, and other areas to disadvantaged communities who are marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution.

Renewable Energy

  • Renewable energy (wind, solar, hydro, geo-thermal, biomass, tidal)  is now a competitive alternative to fossil fuels;
  • Grid management and energy storage technologies are rapidly advancing to meet the challenges of managing high volumes of renewable energy;
  • Renewable energies drastically reduce the pollution of our air, land, and water, and can provide the basis of a decarbonized economy with plentiful jobs and adequate energy for our
     well-being and our industry;
  • Experimental and pilot programs have been developed to ease the transition from fossil-fuel related jobs to renewable energy and other jobs;
  • Procurement of rare earth minerals for use in electric vehicles and other technologies in use to harness renewables, remain both a political and environmental challenge. 
  • Markets alone are not capable of piloting a systems-level change, especially in the face of entrenched fossil fuel energy corporations with their subsidies, amortized infrastructure, assets, and established supply chains and delivery systems
Legislation

Agriculture and the Meat Industry

  • The global production of food is responsible for a third of all planet-heating gases emitted by human activity, with the use of animals for meat causing twice the pollution of producing plant-based foods.
  • The raising and culling of animals for food is far worse for the climate than growing and processing fruits and vegetables for people to eat, the research found, confirming previous findings on the outsized impact that meat production, particularly beef, has on the environment. 
  • 10% of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture come from livestock such as cows, agricultural soils, and rice production
  • By 2030, the planet will generate at least five billion tonnes of feces each year, 79% of which is currently produced by livestock. Animal waste from industrial farms remains vastly under regulated compared to human waste, and if left untreated, it poses risks to human health and biodiversity.
  • Adopting regenerative agriculture (RA) on a wider scale is key to food systems change. RA is an outcome-based food production system that nurtures and restores soil health, protects the climate and water resources and biodiversity, and enhances farms' productivity and profitability.
Legislation
  • The most recent full Farm Bill is the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill). It expired on September 30, 2023.
  • Congress has not yet passed a new multi-year Farm Bill. Instead, lawmakers have passed temporary extensions to continue most 2018 programs.
  • Extensions were enacted in late 2023, 2024, and again in 2025, keeping most major programs operating through at least fiscal year 2026.
  • Because Congress has relied on short-term extensions, some smaller agricultural, conservation, research, and sustainability programs without permanent baseline funding have expired or lost funding.
  • Proposed 2024–2025 Farm Bill drafts were introduced in both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, but none have passed into law.
  • The Farm Bill governs critical policies affecting conservation programs, crop subsidies, crop insurance, SNAP, rural development, and climate-smart agriculture initiatives.
  • Ongoing debates include funding levels for conservation programs, support for sustainable and climate-resilient farming practices, and reforms to commodity and livestock systems.

Biodiversity

  • The United States and the world are in the midst of a biodiversity crisis with one million species facing extinction, and on our current trajectory of habitat loss and climate change, scientists project that nearly 40% of all species will face extinction by the end of this century. 
  • While these trends are deeply concerning for the well-being of our planet’s wildlife, they also directly impact the health, economy, security, and well-being of human communities everywhere. 
Legislation/Agreements
  • The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) adopted by COP 15 represents the most ambitious global agreement on biodiversity in the history of environmental governance and will serve as the world's framework for actions taken at all levels to safeguard and restore biodiversity under 23 targets to be achieved by 2030 and towards four long-term goals for 2050. The United States is not a party to the Convention on Biodiversity and, along with The Vatican, is one of two parties that did not sign the GBF.
  • A global target to protect 30% of the planet for nature by 2030 (known as ‘30x30’) is included in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and was agreed at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at COP15. 
  • Countries are expected to contribute to this global goal through domestic action to increase coverage of effectively managed protected areas. More than 100 countries have now signed up to the commitment.
  • The new Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) has been designed to mobilize and accelerate investment in the conservation and sustainability of wild species and ecosystems, whose health is under threat from wildfires, flooding, extreme weather, and human activity including urban sprawl, in order to build a nature positive world.