Why aren’t politicians prioritizing combatting climate change?

In democracies, politicians represent those who vote for them. The greatest beneficiaries of climate change policies are young people, including the unborn and those too young to vote. These generations will be the hardest hit if the current crisis continues, even though they are the least culpable for climate change. However, their limited voting power is one reason for politicians’ low priority on climate policy.

Simultaneously, although the benefits of climate policies are for everyone, the cost of adaptation would mostly be borne by large companies in the energy, transportation and industrial sectors. Therefore, they have an incentive to lobby against these policies. For example, advocacy group Influence Map reported that the five major oil and gas companies, BP, Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron and Total, have spent nearly 200 million USD on lobbying against climate change policies. This type of massive lobbying intends to persuade politicians not to support policies that prioritize combatting climate change.