Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumIn US Voter Survey, 70% Support Government Action On Climate, Paris Agreement Membership
The climate crisis is set to be a significant factor in a US presidential election for the first time, with new polling showing a clear majority of American voters want decisive action to deal with the threats posed by global heating. Seven in 10 voters support government action to address climate change, with three-quarters wanting the US to generate all of its electricity from renewable sources such as solar and wind within 15 years.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents said they would be more likely to vote for a presidential candidate who supports the complete shift to clean energy, with a further seven in 10 voters supporting US involvement in the Paris climate agreement, which commits countries to tackling dangerous heating. Two-thirds of voters said climate should be a priority for whoever wins the election.
There may be a divide on Capitol Hill but the large majority of us are worried about climate change and want to see leaders deal with it, said Ed Maibach, director of George Mason Universitys Center for Climate Change Communication. This is the first election where climate change has featured heavily. Its unlike anything weve seen in American politics before.
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This concern is filtering through, to a lesser degree, to Republican voters. More than half say climate change is a very or somewhat serious problem, with 41% backing the Green New Deal, despite it being widely vilified by Republican party leaders. A further 51% of Republican voters support US involvement in the Paris climate accords. The polling suggests Trump, who has triggered the US withdrawal from the agreement and routinely disparages climate science, will be the first US president to face a voter backlash over the climate crisis. His Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, meanwhile, has vowed to reduce US energy emissions to net zero by 2050 and promised a $2tn investment to create millions of new jobs in clean energy industries.
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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/23/us-voters-climate-change-guardian-vice-poll
still_one
(92,061 posts)mountain grammy
(26,598 posts)was it the 120 degree days in LA or the 5 feet of rain in Houston?
Tim Flannery's book The Weather Makers came out in 2005..