Study suggests US politicians support climate action when linked to certain other environmental issues

The US House of Representatives is more likely to vote on climate action when it is linked with certain other environmental issues, according to a study published September 25, 2024 in the open-access journal PLOS Climate by Kayla Morton of the University of Washington, Seattle and colleagues.

Climate change is a very polarizing issue in US politics. While Congress has not passed many climate-related bills over the past two decades, the House of Representatives has voted on many bills and resolutions related to climate issues, thus providing an opportunity to examine the factors that motivate politicians to support climate legislation.

In this study, Morton and colleagues investigate how votes on climate issues are impacted when climate legislation is linked with other environmental issues.

The authors compiled data from the League of Conservation Voters on 77 climate-focused legislative votes in the House of Representatives between 2007–2021. They observed that climate legislation tends to garner more votes when linked with legislation targeting air pollution or environmental justice, but climate legislation receives less support when associated with legislation relating to water pollution or transportation. In all cases, Democrats showed more support for climate legislation than Republicans.

These results suggest that linking climate action with other environmental initiatives affects the level of political support certain legislation receives, a valuable insight into what motivates US politicians to support climate action.

The authors acknowledge that this study uses only one organization’s definitions of climate- and environment-related legislation, and that future study might examine a broader range of environmental legislation, as well as other factors that might impact support for climate action.

The authors add, “Climate policy is a highly divisive issue in the U.S., so it’s important to understand where potential policy successes can happen. Issue linkages help legislators address the pressing global issue of climate change while bringing home a win for their district.”