ENVIROMENTAL POLITICS

Climate Change and Politics

Name

Institution
ENVIROMENTAL POLITICS

Introduction

In the growing world politics and a climate change has been looked into through many

perspectives in the United States and the whole world at large. To explore their relationships,

you must understand the politicization of climate changes in the American context. This

relationship also tries to explain, to what extent politics affect climate changes. This will,

therefore, be a chief aspect to be analyzed so as to have a deep understanding of opportunities

and challenges that have been affecting the development of climate agendas in a particular

political system. After having a clear understanding of the relationship of the two, it will be easy

to understand the policies that have been put in place politically to regulate the climatic changes.

In America, the political system tries to analyze and address the factors that influence the

level at which climatic agendas can be politicized. Over the last decade, the issue of climate

change has been among the top international agenda. Whereby, combining it with other political

challenges has put great pressures on the world's scholars who have been trying to understand

and explain how different parameters and influencing factors affect the climate change. These

factors have also impacted some pressure on the political system in the US and the whole globe

at large to implement on effective policies that have used to tackle climatic changes.

To have a clear picture in mind of how different political stakeholders join hands in the

interaction with climate changes, you have to argue from political economy perspective. These

interactions will enhance great opportunities under which climatic change policies have been

implemented. There have been many policies that have been put in place to try to address the

issue of climatic changes. Over the past years, the United States has been known and identified
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as a global analyst on policymaking strategy regarding the climate change and their

implementation.

Climate change policies in the US

Bearing in mind that US government was among the first states to address the issue of

climate change in earlier 1960s, we can outline various strategic policies that were used and what

they were intended to control. (Gidden, 2009) Climate change takes place when there are

variations in elements like wind patterns, humidity, precipitation and temperature over a long

period of time. In an effort to control climate changes, the US government initiated the

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (Gidden, 2009) Though EPA is not considered a

cabinet department, its administrator is given a cabinet rank. Under EPA, the US government has

been able to form policies that have been put in place to help in the control of climate changes.

Just to mention a few, these policies include; the Energy policy, Environmental policy, the Clean

Air Act policy and Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act 2007.

The Energy policy has been of significance in resolving issues relating to energy in terms

how it is generated, supplied and used. Limits and regulations in this policy are set by the US

federal government, state and local organizations. When fossil fuel resources are harnessed to

produce energy, processes result in changes in climate and global warming. Carbon emissions

occur that pose a threat to the environment and its climate. (Belden, 2001) They result in

extremely high temperatures on earth whose consequences are; reduced the distribution of water,

increase in sea levels and unpredictable weather patterns. The energy policy has been helpful in

encouraging the use of renewable energy sources which are sustainable instead of fossil fuels.

This has resulted in reduced carbon emissions, a step towards climate change control. The US
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government has also been offering financial support in this policy and largely investing in energy

regulation conservation.

The Environmental policy is another strategy that has been adopted in the US to control

climate changes. This policy aims at conservation of the environment to make it a better place to

harbor the genealogies to come. It also ensures that there is balance in the environmental costs

burden. It was an initiation of the federal government of the US to control human acts that affect

its environment. (Belden, 2001) The different human activities that affect the environment

include; industrialization, farming using chemicals and use of nuclear weapons.There are

standards that have been set by the government that has to be met in control of activities that

result in harmful emissions into the environment. Through these standards, the government is

able to influence citizens on emission controls by meeting the set limits. Through this, the effects

of harmful emissions on the environment and climate are minimized.

The US government has also been checking climate change by use of the Clean Air Act

(CAA) under EPA. (Belden, 2001) This act has been of significance since it has been used to set

standards on regulation pollution of the air nationally. Pollution results in a poor quality of the

air resulting from an increase in poisonous substances such as greenhouse gases in the

atmosphere. These lenders the environments unsafe for its inhabitants as these poisonous

substances are fatal to both natural and manmade environments. Concentrations of greenhouse

emissions in the air result in severe climate changes like increased temperature levels which are

harmful to bio-life. (Belden, 2001) Greenhouse emissions result from both mobile and stationary

sources. Examples of stationary sources are industries and mobile sources include motor

vehicles. The CAA works in ensuring clean and conducive air is maintained. (Belden, 2001)
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Section 202 of the CAA contains regulations for greenhouse gases from mobile sources while

those from stationary sources are regulated under Part C of Title 1 of the CAA.

The Global Warming pollution reduction Act was initiated in 2007 with the aim

controlling impacts of global warming on the environment. The threat of global warming was to

be dealt with effectively in this act. (Belden, 2001) The Act had regulations on carbon

sequestration funding which aids in the reduction of greenhouse gas accumulation in the

atmosphere emitted through fossil fuel combustion. There have been projects initiated with the

effort to minimize the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that could lead to global

warming if accumulated in large amounts. (Belden, 2001) These processes involve controlling

carbon dioxide level and accumulating it in reservoirs artificially the same way natural mediums

operate. This act also set regulations on the emissions from new vehicles and energy efficiency

standards.

Conclusion

Governments in different states around the globe, for instance, the USA, ensure that there

are set policies to deal with climate change. These policies influence the way the citizens carry

out their day to day operations that in turn have an impact on the climate. With the

environmental, energy and CAA policies, the US government is able to control the changes in

climate. (Belden, 2001) They involve laws and standards set to ensure that human activities do

not impact negatively on the environment hence controlling climate change. Global warming has

been a great threat to many nations and the world at large. Its impacts of extreme temperatures

result in many effects on the earth, for instance, the rise in the sea level. The consequence of the
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rising in sea level is suffered by the people residing by the shoreline. The policies that have been

formulated have aided a great deal in dealing with causes of climate change.
ENVIROMENTAL POLITICS

References

Belden, R. S. (2001). Clean Air Act. American Bar Association.

Giddens, A. (2009). Politics of climate change. Polity.