Deadly Hurricanes Should Put Climate Front and Center in Election | Opinion

Climate change has again unleashed its destructive force on America, smack in the middle of election season. Higher temperatures and warmer seas, two well-known consequences of climate change, are what gave Hurricane Milton its deadly energy and record rainfall, according to initial scientific assessments. Yet even as troops are dispatched to aid devastated communities, the issue of climate change barely features in the campaign of either presidential candidate. It’s not a burning issue for many voters either, according to polls last month.
With the presidential hopefuls running neck-and-neck, it is understandable that they should want to avoid subjects perceived as vote losers. Regrettably—and wrongly, in our view—in the U.S. climate policy is thought of as a minefield; best avoided altogether or approached with great caution.
Partly this is because it’s presented as a difficult and complex subject, requiring both personal and national sacrifices. This negative framing is what prevents Vice President Kamala Harris from trumpeting the tens of thousands of clean-energy jobs created under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, President Joe Biden’s signature green legislation. And it is what allows Donald Trump, the former president, to accuse Washington of a “green new scam,” even though Republican districts have been the main beneficiaries of new cleantech investment since 2022.
Climate change should not be a partisan issue. It affects everyone, regardless of political affiliation, and will shape the lives of Americans for generations to come. Both presidential candidates need to place it at the heart of U.S. politics, where it belongs.
Taking climate out of the culture wars
One way to depoliticize climate change is to focus on local impacts and community resilience. Americans excel at coming together and helping each other after disasters like Hurricane Milton. We see no reason why politicians should not be able to do the same. Climate change should be a unifying issue, framed around renewing the country’s crumbling infrastructureand protecting homes, jobs, local economies—and the life its people love. Americans deserve more than hopes and prayers.
By supporting adaptation strategies that protect vulnerable communities—climate-proofing power grids, strengthening flood defenses for coastal and riverine settlements, and reforesting to stabilize soils and prevent landslides—the parties could build common ground around the safety, security, and prosperity of all Americans, whether in urban areas or rural, red states or blue. Adaptation projects generate jobs, enhance productivity, and reduce future economic losses and the need for disaster relief. Studiesshow that as a result, climate adaptation delivers economic returns several times higher than the initial investment.
But climate action isn’t just about avoiding disaster—it’s about seizing a once-in-a-generation chance to come together around a new goal: building an America fit for the 21st century. It must be championed as a pathway to economic opportunity—indeed, the only pathway—rather than as a burden. In fairness to Biden, this was exactly how he framed the Inflation Reduction Act and accompanying regulation to rein in carbon emissions. He deserves credit for spearheading a manufacturing renaissance in America that has attracted more than $200 billion in new cleantech investment to date.
Doubling down on climate investment
Come January, the United States will have a new president. We hope the new leader will build on Biden’s green policies, rather than renege on them. Climate change is here to stay; its impact is becoming more and more lethal, touching more and more lives. To fight it we need long-term, consistent, and decisive action. The new government will need to redouble climate investment—accelerating deployment of clean technologies and training for green jobs and ensuring that climate action benefits town and country dwellers alike. Financial markets also need to better integrate climate risk—creating incentives for private capital to flow toward sustainable, climate-resilient investments.
Whoever wins the White House, this is a time for pragmatism and unity, not partisanship. Failing to build climate resilience will only mean higher costs for Americans down the road. In these tumultuous times, America—and the world—needs a strong climate leader. We hope the next president will be up to the task.
Ban Ki-moon was eighth secretary-general of the United Nations. Patrick Verkooijen is CEO of the Global Center on Adaptation.
The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.