The climate change policy of the United States has major impacts on global climate change and global climate change mitigation. This is because the United States is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gasses in the world after China, and is among the countries with the highest greenhouse gas emissions per person in the world. Cumulatively, the United States has emitted over a trillion metric tons of greenhouse gases, more than any country in the world.[1]
Climate change policy is developed at the state and federal levels of government.[2] The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines climate change as "any significant change in the measures of climate lasting for an extended period of time." Essentially, climate change includes major changes in temperature, precipitation, or wind patterns, as well as other effects, that occur over several decades or longer.[3] The policy with the biggest US investment in climate change mitigation is the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
The politics of climate change have polarized certain political parties and other organizations.[4] The Democratic Party advocates for an expansion of climate change mitigation policies whereas the Republican Party tends to be skeptical about the effects on business,[clarification needed] as well as advocate for slower change, inaction, or reversal of existing climate change mitigation policies. Most lobbying on climate policy in the United States is done by corporations that are publicly opposed to reducing carbon emissions.[5]