Three essays on the politics of climate change through the lens of race
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Abstract
This dissertation consists of three independent essays that contribute to the understanding of the politics of climate change in the United States through the lens of race. The impacts of climate change continue to escalate, with people of color disproportionately affected. Yet, most prior studies on Americans’ climate attitudes and urban climate actions lack racial attributes. The first essay investigates how the intersection of race and ethnicity, gender, and partisanship explains Americans’ perceptions of climate risk and views of climate-friendly policy. I find that the standard explanation of the gender gap is more applicable to non-Hispanic Whites, especially among Republicans. The second essay views the intersection of the politics of climate change and racial equity as a two-step decision-making process and analyzes what influences cities to have racial equity considerations in the context where they already have climate plans. By jointly investigating the elite survey data with cities’ actual climate planning documents, I link how mayors’ perceptions of climate change and racial inequality are translated into cities’ climate plans. In particular, I examine factors associated with cities’ adoption of climate plans, equity prioritization, and recognition of either the current or historical roots of racial disparities. I find substantial effects of mayors’ perceptions and partisanship on cities’ racially equitable climate plans. The third essay offers an interesting perspective on how American cities collaborate and form networks to address climate change and racial equity. Using social network analysis techniques, I calculate the centrality values of cities within climate networks and analyze what demographic, socioeconomic, and political characteristics are associated with cities’ relative power within the networks. I also explore how cities that are committed to climate actions are also taking part in racial equity by examining the co-membership status in both climate and racial equity networks. I find that cities that are co-members of both issue networks and that are categorized as highly central cities within climate networks are mostly led by Democratic mayors. All three essays raise and answer unique yet important research questions about the politics of climate change with a focus on racial equity using various datasets and methodologies.
Description
2024
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International