Will Climate Change Issues Affect the 2020 US Elections?

Climate change is supposed to be the key issue in the 2020 U.S. Elections. After all, an increasing number of Americans want an active federal climate policy and companies are scrambling to become climate leaders. However, opinion polls show that climate issues have a low salience in relation to other policy challenges such as the economy, healthcare, and COVID-19. Yet, Republicans are embracing climate issues in competitive Senate races. Instead of talking about climate change, they highlight local economic benefits of environmental protection. The lesson is that climate policy gets traction in competitive races. Second, the climate narrative needs to focus on local benefits of environmental protection as opposed to the save-the-earth narrative typically employed by the climate movement.