DeepSummary
The podcast episode examines whether President Joe Biden has done enough to address climate change and appeal to young voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Reporter Amy Williams visited North Carolina universities and found that many students, while concerned about climate change, were unaware of Biden's specific policies and achievements in this area, such as the Inflation Reduction Act and its green subsidies and emissions regulations.
The episode explores potential reasons for this disconnect, including the slow implementation of climate projects funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, the Biden administration's messaging challenges in highlighting its climate agenda, and the continued prominence of the United States as a major oil and gas producer. Experts discuss the implications of this apathy among young voters for Biden's re-election prospects.
Looking ahead, the panelists speculate on what a second Biden term or a potential Trump presidency could mean for climate policies, with Biden likely focused on executing the Inflation Reduction Act, and Trump expected to roll back such measures and potentially withdraw from the Paris Agreement.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Young voters, a key part of Biden's coalition, appear apathetic towards his climate change policies and achievements.
- Potential reasons include slow implementation of climate projects, messaging challenges, and the US's prominence as an oil/gas producer.
- This apathy among young voters could impact Biden's re-election prospects if they choose not to vote.
- Biden's second term would likely focus on executing the Inflation Reduction Act, while Trump could roll back climate policies.
- A Trump presidency could lead to US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and UN climate talks, with significant global implications.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “Everyone's just getting on with their lives. Not everyone can read the Financial Times every day, but, you know, it's just like, you should. Yeah, I don't think it's that. I don't think it's a lack of a grand plan.“ by Amy Williams
- “Well, I think that there was maybe a fundamental mistake with the Inflation Reduction act. Even in just the name of the bill, they pitched it as an effort to reduce inflation rather than a bill that would dramatically transform the US economy and make it greener.“ by James Politi
- “It's really difficult to ignore the fact that the US is the world's biggest oil and gas producer. No number of green jobs or, you know, inflation Reduction act rules and regulations like these things are nitty gritty and they don't, they're not like, easily translated into political messaging.“ by Amy Williams
- “That would mean the US no longer had a seat at the table at the UN climate talks. I mean, that would be, I want to say, catastrophic, actually, because the US, obviously, the world's largest historical polluter, it's such an important geopolitical power to be there at those talks domestically.“ by Amy Williams
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Episode Information
FT News Briefing
Forhecz Topher
6/22/24
Americans have inflation and foreign policy on their minds this election. That means that President Joe Biden’s ambitious climate achievements aren’t resonating with voters – especially young voters – the way his administration expected. The FT’s US climate reporter, Aime Williams, and Washington bureau chief, James Politi, join this week’s Swamp Notes podcast to explain why.
Credit: ESPN
Mentioned in this podcast:
How Joe Biden’s climate push fell flat with Gen Z voters
Why Americans are not buying more EVs
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Swamp Notes is produced by Ethan Plotkin, Sonja Hutson, Lauren Fedor and Marc Filippino. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. Special thanks to Pierre Nicholson.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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