What do the midterm results mean for environmental policyα
New opportunities for environmental protection and serious discussions about infrastructure could be among the ripple effects of the midterm election results. The recent midterm elections could have far-reaching implications for the direction of federaland state-level environment and energy policy. Chris Field , Perry L. McCarty Director of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and Sally Benson , co-director of the Precourt Institute for Energy , discussed ways forward, lessons learned and more. What do the midterm election results mean for policy action on climate change, renewable energy and other environmental issues at the state and federal levelα. CHRIS FIELD: I suspect that, at least initially, we will see more change in visibility of climate change as an important issue than change we can measure in concrete policy actions. It would be great to see new commonsense measures on renewable energy policy and disaster risk reduction but it will take some time and effort to get those topics on the front burner. One possibility that is important for climate change adaptation is an infrastructure package grounded in an awareness of the risks from climate change. That might be a possibility, even in the near term. What, if anything, do the results mean for federal rollbacks of environmental regulationsα. SALLY BENSON: I think that international competitiveness of our industry is a big issue here.
