Prof. Aseem Prakash and colleague Prof. Nives Dolšak ask why local mayoral candidates are pressing climate change concerns in their campaigns?
"Mayor hopefuls are focusing on crime, policing, and homelessness. Climate change does not seem to be on their agendas. Why is this surprising?
Across the world, cities are the central nodes in climate politics. After all, they account for about 70% of carbon emissions. Cities will also face the brunt of climate impacts, such as an influx of climate refugees, water crisis, sea-level rise, electricity blackouts, and the heat island effect. Moreover, climate justice, which is driving climate discussions, is particularly relevant for cities given their extreme income inequality and higher exposure of low-income communities to climate risks."
"Seattle is holding its Mayoral primary on August 2. The city has recently experienced an unprecedented heatwave (and no rain for 45 days, and counting!). Yet, when asked, “What policies do you want to see Seattle’s next Mayor implement to improve the health of the city?”, 68% of respondents ranked homelessness on the top, followed by police reform (18%), improving public safety and tackling crime (17%), bringing down housing costs (13%), and increasing police support (10%). Only 5% saw climate policy as the top issue for the next Mayor."