Why Climate Change Matters in the 2020 Election
Young demonstrators hold placards as they attend a climate change protest organized by "Youth Strike 4 Climate" opposite the Houses of Parliament in central London on February 15, 2019. Source.
The issue of climate change is of growing importance for Americans, with six-in-ten adults now viewing climate change as a threat to well-being in the United States. Despite this, climate change constantly lacks voter priority, behind issues such as the economy, healthcare, and the coronavirus outbreak. Despite its lack of voter priority, climate change is one of the biggest threats to face the world, and political action is needed immediately to slow its shocking predictions. The United Nations Climate Panel warns that the world has until 2030 to prevent ‘irreversible damage from climate change.’ The five warmest Augusts have all occurred since 2015, evidently showing that the climate is warming, with the year 2020 on course to be the warmest year ever recorded. With the warmest year upcoming, it is crucial to highlight why climate change matters in the 2020 Election.
The most progressive and aggressive climate change policy is the Green New Deal. Introduced by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts, it calls for the federal government to significantly decrease the usage of fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, it aims to offer high-paying jobs in clean energy industries. It also states that the world must get to net-zero emissions by 2050 and that the United States must take a leading role. To accomplish this, the Green New Deal offers a “10-year-mobilization” plan which envisions sourcing the nation’s electricity from renewable power. Following the 2018 midterm elections, the Sunrise Movement, a nationwide youth-led climate justice group, held a sit-in outside the office of Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, demanding action towards climate change and support for the Green New Deal. Both presidential candidates oppose the Green New Deal, but Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris has co-sponsored it on the Senate floor.
Despite openly opposing the Green New Deal, each presidential candidate offers alarmingly different climate change policies. Joe Biden’s climate plan is much more narrowly focused than the Green New Deal. It would lay out $2 trillion over 4 years towards clean energy and infrastructure. However, similar to the Green New Deal, Biden’s plan tackles issues related to environmental justice and infrastructure. His plan ultimately focuses on creating “millions” of jobs alongside moving the U.S. to a carbon-free future, also with plans to have net-zero emissions by 2050. However, one area where his climate policies differ from Democrats is the issue of fracking. Fracking, which consumed most of the vice presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Mike Pence, is a drilling method that extracts natural gas, a fossil fuel that harms the environment. Joe Biden will not ban fracking in hopes of not alienating voters in swing states.
President Trump’s climate policies, in contrast, are much more detrimental to the environment. By supporting the unobstructed growth of the fossil fuel industry, withdrawing the United States from the Paris Agreement, and reducing the power of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Trump administration is doing nothing to combat climate change. The United States contributes to 15% of the world’s greenhouse gasses, second in the world behind China. If the Trump administration were to get a second term, the number would likely increase due to their lack of federal legislation on climate change.
With the world warming at unprecedented rates, there must be a global effort to combat climate change. The issue of climate change is existential. The upcoming election is one of the few chances to drastically push for aggressive climate policies at the federal level, and it might be the last chance to directly have an impact on the warming planet.