THE SOCIAL DIMENSION OF US CLIMATE POLICY CONTESTATION: SUBNATIONAL, NATIONAL AND GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

Politicisation of United States climate policy has grown over past decades. Both state and non-state actors contest climate policy, its scientific foundations and its social consequences. The social dimension of climate policy is used by both proponents and opponents of ambitious climate policy. Many proponents of ambitious US climate policy advocate climate justice, highlighting that vulnerable societal groups need to be supported (financially and otherwise) so that they can cope with increased costs and economic changes. Opponents of ambitious US climate policy claim that climate policy has negative social consequences, especially job losses and economic disadvantages. How can we explain that very similar arguments are used to make opposite claims? How and why do their narratives differ? This project analyses US narratives pertaining the equity-climate nexus at the international, national and subnational level. It aims to explain the variance in climate justice narratives by addressing the core research question: Why and how do US state and non-state actors construct climate justice narratives in their support of/opposition to climate policy?