Climate change isn’t the number one issue on most people’s minds as they head to the polls for the 2024 election on Nov. 5. Instead, abortion, immigration and the economy are generally the major issues people put first for why they’re choosing a particular candidate, whether it’s former President Donald Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris or a third-party runner. Of course, there isn’t really a crisis that climate change isn’t making worse, whether it’s eroding reproductive rights, driving mass migration or accelerating inflation.
Regardless, because of the way elections work in the United States, whoever wins will set the tone for at least the next four years when it comes to climate policy. And experts repeatedly remind us that time is running out when it comes to meaningful action that can reduce the worst outcomes of climate change — what some have warned is an ongoing “biological holocaust” that will result in “universal suicide.”
