How do Problems get on to the Political Agenda and get Taken Seriously by Policymakers? An Analysis of Climate Change Policy in the US

Abstract

The issue of climate change is not of the recent past. However, it was late in the nineteenth century in the US that the phenomenon was defined and framed as an issue of public interest by those who say it mattered. The reason was the occurrence of indicators such as a rise in earth temperature and prolonged summer season. The mass displacement of people from their places of inhibits and damages to their properties forced the government to take the issue seriously. A change in the administration in the federal capital, along with pressure from civil society and demand from various groups to resolve the issue of climate change, proved to be something that ultimately led to the resolution of the issue and taken seriously by the government of the day. While answering the question of how the issue of climate change made its way to the agenda-setting stage of policymaking, Jhon Kingdon model of agendasetting has been applied, which is more relevant and acceptable in terms of conceptual logics and the issue at hand.