The Big Case That Never Shaped The Election Campaign – NRK Urix – Foreign News & Documentaries

In the Paris Agreement, all countries promise to make an effort to stop warming. The United States was also on the team. But Donald Trump has pulled the country out of the Paris Agreement.

The United States is out the day after the election. But if Joe Biden wins, he will get America back.

To the left of your planet

The contrast is great. The election campaign has shown that they are still on their planet on the issue of climate solutions.

As a great power, and as the second country with the most CO2 emissions in the world (approximately 15 percent of the total), it is very important what kind of climate policy the United States pursues, both domestically and internationally.

Many will probably say that the weather should be a hot topic in the American election campaign. But in a year of pandemics and thousands of deaths, the weather has not become the big problem.

Nor has it greatly affected the debates between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. But in the last debate, the topic came up completely.

– We are about to lose time, so now we have to turn to the climate, said President Kristen Welker.

A few minutes of debate on the weather was enough for usemja to come out clearly.

Donald Trump: – I don’t want to sacrifice tens of millions of jobs for the Paris Agreement. That deal is devastating for companies. The bite will destroy the oil industry. Think about it Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio!

– We have a moral responsibility and we are morally obliged to act, responded Biden, who promised 50,000 new electric charging stations if elected.

Food on the table and money in the bank.

Guri Bang is a senior fellow at NUPI and a researcher on US climate policy. Follow the election campaign closely and see that the crown pandemic has dominated.

– The most acute crisis, which has had dire consequences for the health and finances of millions of Americans, is emphasized more than the climate crisis. Research also shows that generally in such crisis situations, having food on the table and money in the bank becomes more important to people than the climate and the environment, Bang says.

But the climate issue has not been completely absent. Biden has talked about his climate plan, Trump has talked about clean air and clean water.

Fires and extreme weather

Weather has also become a related issue with the many wildfires this year. Five of the six largest wildfires in California history occurred in 2020. Researchers believe that climate change is one of the leading causes of the many wildfires in the state, according to the New York Times.

Temperature records have been seen elsewhere, such as Phoenix, Arizona. There we have our 53 days with temperatures above 43.3 degrees Celsius this year. And in the Atlantic, a series of tropical storms have devastated.

– Have the wildfires in California had a say in the election campaign?

– They have paid attention to the climate problem, but California is not a seesaw state and therefore it is not that important in the election campaign. Everything indicates that Democrats will win in that state anyway, and therefore candidates don’t spend a lot of time campaigning there, Bang says.

– The most ambitious climate plan

Joe Biden’s climate plan is described as very comprehensive and demanding to implement.

– This is the most ambitious climate plan ever put forward by a candidate who has been in the final sprint for the presidency. It focuses much more on the climate in the election campaign than Obama and Clinton did, says Guri Bang.

She believes this is a result of the fact that climate has become an increasingly important issue for more voters.

– Split on the weather theme

An opinion poll by the Pew Research Center, conducted in late July / August, shows that two-thirds of American voters think climate is an important issue.

Of these, about 80 percent of voters will vote for Joe Biden, while 20 percent of those who will vote for Donald Trump voters have the same opinion.

– Opinion polls show that the weather has become more and more important over time. This poll also shows that voters are very divided on this case, says Bang.

– See crises in context

Critical voices believe this is not the time to shout out loud about the climate crisis. There are many other crises that seem more important to address and that are closer to people’s everyday lives. But Joe Biden sees a connection between these crises.

In his climate plan, he links the economic crisis and the climate crisis. It focuses on green investments and green jobs.

– Biden wants large-scale investment in renewable energy and infrastructure, such as high-speed trains, charging grids for electric cars, and smart grids, which are good climate measures and that make people work. Biden notes that there is great potential for green economic growth in the US, says Bang.

– How does this affect your speeches in the electoral campaign?

– When Biden talks about speeding up the economy again, he also talks about the weather. He talks about climate change as a solution both to reduce emissions and to stimulate the economy.

New green jobs

Joe Biden presented his climate plan this summer, in his home state of Delaware.

– When Donald Trump thinks about climate change, the word “bluff” is the only thing that comes to mind. The word I want to highlight is “jobs,” he said in a speech he gave on the banks of the Wilmington River, according to Delaware Online.

– But when do you approach the broad popular masses with this?

– Focusing on economic growth and job security is something most voters place high priority on. Additionally, Biden emphasizes that vulnerable groups can benefit from green change because there are low-income families and minorities that will be the most affected by climate change. He promised that 40% of investments in the climate plan will go to these groups, says Bang.

– Talk a bit about the weather

On June 1, 2017, just months after taking office, Trump announced that he would withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement. He has made it clear that he doubts that we humans are to blame for climate change.

Biden says that man-made climate change is one of the biggest challenges in the world today.

During his presidency, Trump has emphasized eliminating as many climate measures as possible and refers to climate policy as an obstacle to economic development. He believes that Americans cannot afford the climate regulations that he believes can slow economic growth, Bang says.

– To what extent has this topic influenced your speeches?

– Trump does not mention the weather so much in his speeches, it is more or less ignored. But he talks a lot about supporting the coal industry and how important it is to have as little regulation as possible for the oil and gas industry, says Bang.

Important new jobs

The acquisition of new jobs has been and is a matter of struggle for Donald Trump. In the election campaign, he has talked a lot about the huge growth of shale oil and gas and that the United States will have a dominant role in the world market in the future.

– This attracts voters in states where these industries are strong and that have a large portion of the workforce in these states. Some of these are tilted states, like Pennsylvania, where the shale gas industry is a large and important employer.

When the battle to win the presidential election ends soon, it will be a day of climate change where a winning case or not. And if it is attractive to talk about the climate crisis in the middle of a crisis for the country.