By Allison McKenzie
As the world recovers from the heart attack of the 2020 United States presidential election, onlookers are likely curious about the impact that prevalent environmental issues had on voters across the country. The United States is often seen as a leading influence on other countries especially when it comes to policy issues such as climate change. In 2017, President Trump made the decision to drop out of the Paris Climate Agreement. The Paris Agreement seeks to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius; countries that are parties to this agreement would need to reach net-zero emissions by the year 2050 in order to meet such goals. As a result of United States’ absence in the Paris Climate Agreement, other countries have started to lessen their efforts toward commitments made under the agreement.
Recent events as well as the rising voices of activists proved to be two important factors which ultimately led to the result of the presidential election. These recent events include wildfires searing across the Western United States, unprecedented floods in Asia, deadly heatwaves and droughts, and a rapid loss of ice caps. A recent CNN article, Jonathan Pershing, the Program Director of Environment at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, stated that he believes “under a United States president who pushes for climate policies the world could work toward ‘marginal, incremental damagers’ rather than catastrophic ones.” The devastating blow of climate change has wreaked havoc throughout the global community. As Kim Cobb, professor and researcher of paleoclimate and climate change at Georgia Tech, claimed in the same CNN article “It’s not really the planet anymore. It’s really about people. And that’s something that we have to wake up to. It’s not about saving polar bears and coral reefs, it’s about us.” Climate change has gotten personal for voters as was the evident in this election.
Several voters were cited in a BBC article from November 2020 which featured a discussion about the influence that the climate crisis had on their vote this fall. First, an independent voter from Alaska explained that in her community, common activities have been negatively impacted by climate change. She claimed that there has been a devastating “impact on the Alaskan economy as the land and waters of Alaska have always provided so much life for the community, and when they are diminished the Alaskan quality of life is diminished.” A California resident, a member of the Republican party, said he believes that climate change has indeed become a threat to national security, but he also stated that he does not believe that either candidate presented a viable plan that would lead to a reasonable solution to the crisis. Finally, a Florida resident, a member of the Democratic Party, believes that President-Elect Joe Biden’s climate change plan will have a positive impact on his local community in Miami. The young voter claimed, “climate change is an existential threat to the future of his generation, and Joe Biden’s proposed policies take some of the necessary steps to mitigate its effects.”
Additionally, the Pew Research Center conducted a study this past summer to further an understanding of the impact that environmental issues have on voters in the United States. The study found that “a majority of registered voters in the United States say climate change would be a very or at least somewhat of an important issue in making their decision about whom to vote for in the presidential election.” About 68% of Biden supporters had said that, at the time of this survey, climate change would have a very important influence on their vote. On the other hand, only about 11% of Trump supporters shared that perspective on climate change. In both instances, this data reflects a variation in perspectives depending on several factors including ideology, gender, and generation.
Recently, climate change has become an increasingly prevalent issue for voters across the United States. This impact of which is reflected in the results of the recent election. Now, as the dust settles on these results, the country and our global community await the fruition of President-Elect Joe Biden’s proposed environmental policies.
References:
https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/01/world/us-election-climate-crisis-intl-dst-hnk/index.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54727388
How important is climate change to voters in the 2020 election?