The State Initiative: An Exploration of the Variation in Climate Change Policies Passed in the Fifty US States
Open Access
- Author:
- Kiver, Emily
- Area of Honors:
- International Politics
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Arts
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Eric Plutzer, Thesis Supervisor
Gretchen G Casper, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Political science
Climate Change
Public Opinion
Public Policy
Renewable Energy
Greenhouse Gases
Energy
Pennsylvania
Florida
Texas
Environmental Policy - Abstract:
- Policies crafted to attack the causes of climate change, including those that limit carbon dioxide emissions and promote renewable energy sources are unevenly dispersed in the United States at the state-level. And while all states have instituted environmental regulations and tend to have state bureaucracies designated to administer and enforce these regulations, climate change has not received nearly as much attention in the past three decades. This paper investigates the political, environmental, energy, and economic factors that may influence the passage and institution of state-level climate change policies by creating and analyzing a Climate Change Index measure that incorporates renewable portfolio standards, market-based carbon emissions reduction laws (carbon tax or cap-and-trade policy), and greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions targets. I perform a nested analysis, using multiple linear regressions in the quantitative analysis testing the direct and indirect significance of policy factors. In the case study portion, I trace policy movement in three states, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Florida, with a special focus on natural disaster occurrence and energy industry lobbying, to create a narrative of climate change policy passage in each state. I find that political factors, namely Democratic state government control, and liberal public opinion, significantly and positively impact the passage of climate change-related legislation, while carbon dioxide emissions per capita, fossil fuel consumption, and GSP per capita may indirectly affect political factors, which then affect climate change policy passage.