Huge election year worldwide sees weakening commitment to act on climate crisis
Among sweeping rightwing electoral victories across the globe, the ‘big loser of the elections has been climate’

Oliver Milman
Sat 23 Nov 2024 06.00 EST

An unprecedented year of elections around the world has underscored a sobering trend – in many countries the commitment to act on the climate crisis has either stalled or is eroding, even as disasters and record temperatures continue to mount.

So far 2024, called the “biggest election year in human history” by the United Nations with around half the world’s population heading to the polls, there have been major wins for Donald Trump, the US president-elect who calls the climate crisis “a big hoax”; the climate-skeptic right in European Union elections; and Vladimir Putin, who won another term and has endured sanctions to maintain Russia’s robust oil and gas exports.

“It’s quite clear that in most advanced economies the big loser of the elections has been climate,” said Catherine Fieschi, an expert in European politics and populism.

“It’s been a bad year for climate and we’ve seen a gradual erosion in the public’s commitment to action for a couple of years now. The paradox is, of course, that major climate events are happening more frequently everywhere, yet people are no longer willing to prioritize this.”

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