US President Joe Biden woke to unexpectedly good news on 9 November. The red wave many were expecting, with Republicans taking control of huge swathes of the US government, never broke onshore. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The country, and Congress, are split again between the Democrats, who see climate change as a core issue, and the Republicans, who continue to reject the science, the severity of the problem, or the urgent need to resolve it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With both chambers on a knife edge, governing will be a challenge. Democrats have maintained control of the Senate and may expand their margin by one seat, depending on the result of this week\u2019s Georgia run-off<\/a>. Meanwhile, Republicans have taken control of the House of Representatives, but their victory was smaller than expected \u2013 a majority<\/a> of only eight or nine seats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the state level, Democrats expanded to 17 the number of states where they have \u201ctrifecta\u201d control \u2013 meaning a Democrat Governor, State Senate, and State House or Assembly. This opens up the possibility of more state-level climate action. Republicans have 23 trifectas, while the other 10 states are shared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Michigan, the traditional home of the auto industry, is now under total Democratic control, which may be good news for accelerating the production of electric vehicles. It may be bad news for the proposed Line 5 gas pipeline that would cut through the Great Lakes, a region that includes Michigan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, in Florida, the Republican-controlled government is likely to continue to promote real estate development in areas threatened by hurricanes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Not so long ago, rampant inflation, rising interest rates, and the possibility of a recession would have doomed climate action. But this year, many Democrats ran on climate as a solution to some of the problems facing the economy. And Republicans did not concentrate their attacks on this issue. Gone are the days of candidates shooting holes through carbon cap-and-trade bills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n President Biden\u2019s shift from taxing fossil fuels to investing in climate solutions is likely part of the reason the Inflation Reduction Act<\/a> remains popular. The IRA includes $370 billion in climate spending and is by far the largest climate bill in US history. \u201cThe overwhelming majority of the American people support the elements of my economic agenda \u2013 from rebuilding America\u2019s roads and bridges; to lowering prescription drug costs; to a historic investment in tackling the climate crisis,\u201d Biden said. <\/p>\n\n\n\nUnderstanding the results<\/h2>\n\n\n\n