Climate Denial in American Politics (Routledge Advances in Climate Change Research)

Climate Denial in American Politics is a detailed examination of the rise within American politics of climate denialism, the counter movement which challenges the accepted science of climate change.

Organized around the administrations of American presidents from Roosevelt to Biden, this book provides an unprecedented account of climate denial within both the White House and Congress, and the ‘climate brawls’ that followed. This volume is a rebuke to discredit the climate denier, their propaganda, and their sources. Gerald Kutney examines the evolution of American political thought on climate change and provides a comprehensive survey and analysis of the sordid history of the propaganda which has promoted climate denial and corrupted politicians in America. He uses direct quotes from primary sources, such as government records, to show the extreme and pervasive nature of anti-science opinions made by political climate deniers and limit any misinterpretation that might result from paraphrasing. Weaving the account of climate denialism in American politics with anecdotes from Kutney’s own decade-long experience of challenging climate deniers on Twitter using #ClimateBrawl, this book provides a valuable insight into the world of climate obstruction.

Climate Denial in American Politics will be of great interest to students and scholars of climate change, environmental politics and American politics more broadly.

Gerald Kutney is the author of Carbon Politics and the Failure of the Kyoto Protocol. He was an adjunct professor at the University of Northern British Columbia and taught the graduate course “Climate Change & Global Warming,” and he has presented several guest lectures at Carleton University on climate denialism.