A hot topic: Climate change
Summer is around the corner, and some of the hottest temperatures yet could be, too. U.S. scientists predicted in January there is a 1 in 3 chance that summer 2024 could become the hottest summer on record, beating out last year, according to Reuters. That heat is just one symptom of climate change, a scientific term referring to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns around the world.
Regardless of whether you believe these changes are caused by human activity and the heat-trapping greenhouse gasses emitted by the burning of fossil fuels, you’ve probably noticed politicians discussing the issue in campaigns. The upcoming November presidential election is no exception. While climate change is a global concern, it’s also a highly relevant political issue in the U.S. — which is currently ranked as the second-largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world, according to the U.K.-based climate organization Carbon Brief.
Many climate change deniers are typically considered right-leaning politically, while believers who want to put action into place to delay or prevent climate change are typically left-leaning. President Joe Biden, a Democrat who is running for reelection, has stated publicly that he wants to “tackle” climate change.
Some of the changes he has proposed, according to the White House website, include reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions 50%-52% below 2005 levels by 2030; reaching 100% carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035; achieving a net-zero emissions economy by 2050; and delivering 40% of the benefits from federal investments in climate and clean energy to disadvantaged communities.
On the contrary, former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has expressed his disbelief in climate change to Politico: “The only global warming we should be worrying about … is nuclear warming,” he said in December. According to Politico, he has also previously called climate change a “make-believe problem” and “nonexistent.” Some reasons behind certain political groups (typically right-leaning) denying climate change are the economic impacts. Oil and gas companies have spent more than $20 million on Republican Party members in the upcoming election. The Republican Party has historically been the greatest recipient of oil and gas companies’ lobbying expenditures in the United States, according to Statista.
The political divide on climate change isn’t just national; it’s also global. In Mexico, candidates such as Claudia Sheinbaum, who is running for president, are pushing climate change onto the ballot. “We are going to keep advancing with renewable energies and with the protection of the environment, but without betraying the people of Mexico,” she told voters late last year, according to Bloomberg News. Sheinbaum is running against Xóchitl Gálvez, who is also backing renewables.
The climate change political evolution seemed to begin in 1988 with Republican President George H.W. Bush. In a campaign speech that year, he said, “Those who think we are powerless to do anything about the ‘greenhouse effect’ are forgetting about the ‘White House effect.’ In my first year in office, I will convene a global conference on the environment at the White House. It will include the Soviets, the Chinese. … The agenda will be clear. We will talk about global warming.”
While Bush was the first president to acknowledge the threat of climate change, an unfortunate legacy that followed was a rise in the politicization of climate change talk. The reality of a scientific, real-world issue becoming a weapon both parties utilize to gain votes came true.
Climate change is a key issue for the majority of Generation Z. According to a 2021 study conducted by the Pew Research Center, 67% of Gen Z say “climate should be a top priority to ensure a sustainable planet for future generations.” This is not surprising, as members of Gen Z are inclined to be left-leaning on most issues. Another reason why Gen Z is so passionate about climate change is “climate anxiety” — distress about how climate change may impact land and human existence in the future. A 2021 study conducted by APCO Worldwide showed that 45% of people ages 16 to 25 reported that climate anxiety was affecting their daily lives.
NASA says we’re already seeing the impact of climate change, but these consequences are expected to intensify as the youngest voting generation continues to age. In the U.S., this could include dramatically rising sea levels, increased droughts and heat waves, and a longer wildfire season. With more of Gen Z becoming eligible to vote every year, appealing to them is important.