Rabe on climate politics: Democrats should look to Virginia and Colorado

January 27, 2021 The Brookings Institution

As Democrats take control of government at the federal level, albeit narrowly, Professor Barry Rabe writes that congressional Democrats should follow the lead of Colorado and Virginia -- two states with similarly narrow Democratic-controlled governments: "These two state cases indicate that it may be possible to begin to take steps on climate change that are not reliant solely on the unilateral powers of elected executives. In both instances, states with strong historic dependence on fossil fuel production and use and very modest prior climate policy records have adopted consequential legislation."