Is destroying the planet a vote winner?

Long term climate policy has long been at odds with short-term
politics. As numerous countries head to the polls this year, we
visit Brazil, Australia and the United States and see how climate
policy is being used as a political tool to divide voters.


During recent the elections in Australia – a country with some of
the world’s highest emissions per capita – experts believe that
experiencing the effects of climate change first hand brought the
need for action up the agenda, leading to the unseating of the
climate sceptic Liberal National Coalition. We hear from a
follower of Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, who believes that
the country’s own deforestation figures are fake. Meanwhile, in
the US, we look at how the Republican party’s position changed
from the 2008 presidential elections from proposing climate
policies to denying that man-made climate change is real.


Kate Lamble and Neal Razzell are joined by: Kate Walton,
political journalist based in Canberra, Australia Kathy
Hochstetler, Professor of International Development at the London
School of Economics, UK Anthony Leiserowitz, Director of the
Program for Climate Change Communication at Yale University, USA


Reporter: Roberta Fortuna Researcher: Immie Rhodes Producer:
Dearbhail Starr Series Producer: Alex Lewis Editor: Richard
Fenton-Smith Sound Mixer: Tom Brignell