ABSTRACT
The American national elections of 2008 carried with them a fundamental shift in US climate politics. Characterized by then-UNFCCC chief Yvo DeBoer as a ‘sea change’ in US climate politics (Román and Carson 2009), that shift was reflected in the ways in which majorities in both Houses of Congress conceptualized climate change as an environmental, social and policy problem. It was not so much a dramatic reversal of position, however, as a logical extension of incremental developments in Congress over the preceding few years. The establishment of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming (in 2007), a steady increase in the number of Congressional hearings on problems related to climate change, important bipartisan support from Republican heavyweights in the Senate, and other developments all contributed to nudging climate higher up the Congressional agenda. The election brought a newly enlarged chorus of voices noting agreement on the basic problem of anthropogenic climate change, on the urgent need to act to reduce emissions, and on the need to prepare for changes already in the pipeline. The ‘tip’ produced by the election was a culmination of gradual developments long underway.
