Why isn't climate change a crucial issue in this election?
9 October 2024
Robert Reich asks, “Why isn’t climate change a huge issue in the 2024 campaign?”
To many of us, it is one of the most important issues in this campaign.
Harris and the Democrats have pushed through and supported major legislation to reduce the impact of climate change:
The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides $1.2 trillion for transportation and infrastructure spending, including upgrades to the power grid and investments in clean energy. And the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act allocates hundreds of billions of dollars in tax credits and investments to tackle climate change.
Since these historic laws passed, money has gone to all 50 states, spurring progress in clean vehicle adoption, solar and wind power, battery improvements, modernizing U.S. infrastructure, and more. Together, the laws are projected to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by more than 40% by 2030 — a giant leap forward in the climate fight.
“The last three years have yielded more progress on climate than we’ve seen in the previous 20,” says EDF President Fred Krupp. “The IRA will be remembered along with the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act as a landmark in the history of environmental protection.” More
In contrast, Trump and the Republicans continue to call climate change a hoax, even though the evidence is right before their eyes, as seen today with back to back hurricanes in Florida (Hurricane Milton is fueled by record warm ocean temperatures and we have just had the hottest summer in recorded history, both related to global warming and climate change). In addition, Trump has pledged to “drill, baby, drill”, to allow drilling in Alaska, to dismantle the Environmental Protection Agency and to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement, which he did during his first term, all of which will accelerate global warming.
Scientific American has endorsed Kamala Harris, even though it rarely endorses, arguing that Trump’s attack on scientific fact, including climate change, is singularly dangerous.
Thus, this is an important issue and there is a clear distinction between the positions of Harris and Trump.
Those who care about the future, especially young Americans, should get more actively involved in supporting Harris and the Democrats this election so that the U.S. will continue to tackle this important problem.
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