US climate change politics and policymaking

Abstract

AbstractThe United States is often identified as a global laggard on climate change policymaking and implementation. Although this reputation may be deserved by the US federal government, a look across all levels of the US federal political system and a multitude of political actors demonstrates the existence of a significant number of climate change and energy‐related activities. This brief review of US climate change politics covers climate change policy support and opposition across different governance levels, involving legal and political activities and interactions of a large number of public, private, and civil society sector actors. It examines US federal climate change legislation and politics, and how activities in Washington, DC are connected to both international politics and domestic conditions and debates. This discussion is linked to state and municipal level climate change action, followed by a discussion of how activities of firms and advocacy groups and aspects of US public opinion shape US climate change politics. The review ends with a few concluding remarks about the future of US climate change policymaking and implementation. WIREs Clim Change 2011 2 121–127 DOI: 10.1002/wcc.94This article is categorized under: Policy and Governance > National Climate Change Policy