https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/08/29/what-would-it-take-republicans-deal-with-climate-change/Climate change
is here. Short of getting rid of the filibuster in the Senate, it will take both parties to agree to start legislating seriously on climate change, and so far that hasn't happened. So will there ever be a tipping point when Republicans will get on board?
There are early signs that, yes, there will be. But maybe not in the near future.
Politico recently reported that a number of GOP lawmakers want to do something about it after years of letting Democrats dominate the issues and conversation, while
the New York Times reported Republican strategists are worried the party could lose voters if it doesn't turn around on this issue quickly.
But it seems that is still a long way off, too far off for science, which has found that major areas in the country are
nearing the critical threshold of warming by 2 degrees Celsius.
It will certainly never happen in a Trump administration, say some conservative climate activists. President Trump didn't start the climate change denial movement, but he is its most prominent proponent. His stance that climate change is a "hoax" is in line with his base but incongruent with nearly half of Americans,
according to Pew Research Center, who think dealing with it should be a top priority for the president.
"It's not an issue Trump seems to have much interest in or sees political advantages in approaching," said Joseph Majkut, the director of climate policy for the right-leaning Niskanen Center think tank.
Republican lawmakers in this political moment are carefully contemplating whether and how to address climate change in a way that doesn't "overwhelmingly disturb their political coalitions," Majkut said. "That's complex stuff to figure out," he said. And Trump's not providing them any leadership on how to navigate it.
...
An
April Pew survey found a majority of Americans, 56 percent, say protecting the environment should be the top priority of Congress and the White House and that Republican millennial voters are twice as likely to say humans are causing the Earth's accelerated warming as their older party members. (Though that high is just 36 percent.)
"Not enough conservative constituents are reaching out," Backer said, "and not enough lawmakers are willing to extend their hand and say: 'This is an issue I'm going to prioritize.' "