The Relationship Between Climate Change Policy and Socioeconomic Changes in the U.S. Great Plains

Abstract

As the United States struggles with national solutions to climate change, state and local governments have increasingly taken policy action in this area. Although existing research addresses why some places adopt climate change policy while others do not, much of this expresses policies as a function of factors in the present period or recent past, leaving the question of whether current climate change policy can be seen as a lagged response to longer term trends largely unaddressed. Examination of climate change policy as a response to longer term changes expands the existing understanding of why locations choose to be active in this area. Pairing unique climate change policy survey data from more than 200 local Great Plains governments with Census and environmental data from 1990 to 2000, this article examines whether changes in local socioeconomic and environmental factors in the 1990s are associated with climate change mitigation and adaptation policy adoption from the following decade, 2000–2010.

Why and How Do Cities Plan for Extreme Heat?

“…Climate adaptation research suggests that cities more likely to engage in adaptation had more committed local officials, adequate funding, dedicated planning staff, available data, and a greater awareness of the effects of climate change (Hamin, Gurran, and Emlinger 2014;Nordgren, Stults, and Meerow 2016;Salon, Murphy, and Sciara 2014;Shi, Chu, and Debats 2015;Wang 2013). The presence of at least one political champion is important for climate planning in general (Bassett and Shandas 2010) and adaptation strategies are more likely to be employed by cities with a city manager (Hultquist, Wood, and Romsdahl 2017).…”

“…Community interests and demographics also affect the likelihood of adaptation policies. Larger, denser, and growing cities are more likely to adopt climate adaptation policies, particularly where residents have higher educational attainment and larger shares of Democratic voters (Hultquist, Wood, and Romsdahl 2017;Wood, Hultquist, and Romsdahl 2014;Yeganeh, McCoy, and Schenk 2020).…”

What Motivates Local Sustainability Policy Action in China? The Case of Low-Carbon City Pilot Program

“…More economically advanced and fiscally stronger cities have more material and institutional resources to provide investment and support for sustainability policy innovations to mitigate global climate change (Krause 2011a, 2012; Lubell, Feiock, and Handy 2009). Cities that have a dedicated sustainability unit and more staff support have greater administrative and managerial capacities to engage in climate policy actions (Homsy and Warner 2015; Hultquist, Wood, and Romsdahl 2017; Krause 2011a, 2012; Lubell, Feiock, and Handy 2009; Wang 2013).…”

“…On the other hand, stronger civic capacity in cities with more educated citizens, stronger public awareness of climate challenges, and the presence of environmental groups may allow the public to effectively counterbalance business interests in their advocacy for sustainability (Homsy and Warner 2015; Lubell, Feiock, and Handy 2009; Sharp, Daley, and Lynch 2011; Wang 2013; Zahran et al 2008b). Meanwhile, the presence of an environmental policy entrepreneur may help organize diffuse public interests to form a pro-sustainability coalition in local politics and overcome local capacity constraints (Homsy 2018; Lubell, Feiock, and Handy 2009), thus leading to more active climate policies (Hultquist, Wood, and Romsdahl 2017; Krause 2011b, 2012).…”

“…Early studies have attributed variance in local commitment to climate protection to a set of internal determinants, such as government capacity, local leadership, community support and interest group influences, local demographics, and environmental risks (Krause 2011b; Lubell, Feiock, and Handy 2009; Wang 2013; Zahran et al 2008a, 2008b). More recently, scholars from the multi-level governance perspective argued that local climate policymaking is shaped by external factors, including horizontal learning and diffusion across cities as well as incentives and capacities vertically structured by upper-level authorities (Ehnert et al 2018; Hawkins, Kwon, and Bae 2016; Homsy and Warner 2015; Hultquist, Wood, and Romsdahl 2017; Krause 2011a, 2012; Lee and Koski 2015).…”