Addressing climate change requires a society-wide effort sustained over decades. This simply will not happen without bipartisan cooperation and broad public support. Fortunately, there are signs of hope. There have been recent bipartisan climate policies passed at the state and federal levels, and polls increasingly suggest broad and bipartisan support for addressing climate change, especially among younger voters. What does a bipartisan approach to addressing climate change look like?
The School of Law will host a talk by Matthew G. Burgess, assistant professor in environmental studies at the University of Colorado, to explore this topic. Burgess will present “Depolarizing Climate Change in the United States” Wednesday, Oct. 4, at 4:30 p.m. in the Moot Courtroom (School of Law, Room A59).
Drawing on analyses of opinion polls, survey experiments and legislative action from his research group and others, Burgess will argue that strategies for building a big-tent climate movement include:
- Carrots over sticks;
- Optimism over pessimism;
- National pride over national shame;
- Precise and plain-spoken discourse over hyperbole and histrionics; and
- Kitchen-table-focused approaches to environmental justice rather than identitarian ones.