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Northwestern experts address politicization of climate change amidst wildfire, hurricane crises

‘High levels of partisanship and legislative inaction on climate policy will continue’ regardless of who wins in November, professor says

As wildfires break historic records along the West Coast and Hurricane Sally pummels the Gulf Coast, Northwestern University professors discuss how political polarization impacts public opinion around the crises and what governments can do in response.  

Even if Vice President Joe Biden wins the November presidential election, his ability to drastically impact climate change policy will be limited, suggests policy communications expert Erik C. Nisbet. 

Nisbet, along with political science professor Kimberly R. Marion Suiseeya, are available for comment.

Interview the Experts

Erik C. Nisbet

Owen L. Coon Endowed Professor of Policy Analysis and Communication; director, Center for Communication and Public Policy, Northwestern University School of Communication

Nisbet's research lies at the intersection of communication, public opinion and public policy in the areas of science, technology and environmental policy. He also studies governance and elections, and international security.

“Bottom line, a Trump win will have awful consequences for the environment and threatens the old adage ‘America the beautiful.’ But regardless of who wins the presidential election in November, high levels of partisanship and legislative inaction on climate policy will continue, and political polarization around the issue will remain and potentially intensify among conservatives and climate skeptics.

“If Trump wins, his administration will continue to emasculate U.S. environmental regulation for another four years with long-term negative impacts on America’s ability to address the consequences of climate change – consequences we are experiencing now during record-breaking hurricane and forest fire seasons. While a Biden victory will allow the Democrats to undo much of the administrative and regulatory changes to climate and environmental policy enacted by the Trump administration, it is unlikely to create any major legislative action on climate change, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic.” 

Kimberly R. Marion Suiseeya

Assistant professor of political science, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences

Suiseeya is affiliated with Northwestern's environmental policy and culture program.

“Climate change has not been a meaningful focus of a presidential election since the 2004 Bush/Kerry election, despite extreme events such as Hurricane Katrina and the continually escalating fire seasons in California. So, in a certain sense, I am a bit skeptical on the connections that voters might make between climate crises and the current fires and extreme storms. 

“The pandemic has made it clear that problems such as climate change require cooperation across all levels of society, which requires a significant degree of trust. But people don’t trust one another, the government or science. 

“Many factors shape this erosion of trust. For example, if your family has been subjected to toxic air pollution (like many communities in California before these fires) or extreme flooding (like communities in Chicago, New Orleans and other Gulf communities) simply because of race or class, you might have little faith that the government or private sector will follow through on their commitments. 

“The current handling of the pandemic, these climate-related crises and the persistent fomenting of distrust pursued by the current administration threaten to undermine our resilience as a society.”