BOULDER, Colo — New research out of the University of Colorado Boulder's Center for Social and Environmental Futures shows that people's views on climate change played a significant role in who they voted for in recent presidential elections.
"What we're seeing over time is that the degree to which climate opinion predicts voting is getting stronger, and the fraction of voters that wants something done is getting larger," said Matt Burgess, the study's co-author and CU assistant professor.
Burgess said climate concerns most likely cost Republicans the 2020 election.
"So that means that the Republicans are working, are starting, from a disadvantage," he said.
A recent poll shows the Democratic Party holds a 26 point advantage over Republicans on the issue of climate change. In a close race, that could make the difference.
"I think it remains to be seen how other issues play out," Burgess said. "Certainly there's a lot of talk right now."
The research revealed that fewer than 5% of voters see climate change as the single most important issue facing Americans. More pressing issues include the economy, health care, immigration and crime.
But Burgess pointed out that those issues don't exist in a vacuum. They are all impacted by climate change.
"We have very good evidence that climate change affects the economy," Burgess said. We know that it affects health, it probably affects immigration, and there's even a couple of studies that suggested might affect crime."
How it will affect this coming election remains to be seen. But this research suggests that it is not something to be ignored by politicians.
With climate change at top of mind for voters this election, the researchers think we could see Republicans take a new position on the issue. They could realize that the U.S. could capitalize on the green energy revolution and become a leader in that field.
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