This election year, the world’s voters can save democracy and the planet

This year, over half of the world’s population will have the chance to vote in elections, and the consequences for our planet will be high.

In 2022 we experienced the hottest year on record. 2023 broke that record, and this year is expected to break both those records. We are no longer in the era of global warming. We are knee-deep in the “era of global boiling,” as United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Gutierrez warns. 

Democracy and climate action are deeply connected. But right now, we are seeing the cracks in our fragile ecosystems and frail governing systems.

I can’t shake the memory of the burnt-orange skies in New York City, where I live, or the cataclysmic scenes of a submerged Pakistan, where my family is from. I’m a climate activist and have devoted my life to fighting the climate crisis. I have organized massive voting campaigns, led climate strikes and worked on climate policy from a local level to the United Nations. 

The connection between climate action and democracy is clear: If more people voted for politicians who supported climate justice, we could reach a critical mass and pass transformative climate policy.

With over 50 countries holding elections this year, this may be our chance. Elections are set in nations disproportionately impacted by the climate crisis, like Pakistan, South Africa and India. We will also see standoffs across major polluters including India, the European Union Parliament and of course, the United States. Democracy is the best tool we have to deploy the changes needed at the scale and urgency the climate crisis demands. And yet, democracy is under attack.

My expectations for voting rights were high after relentlessly organizing during the 2020 election cycle. Georgians overcame systemic voter suppression to elect two senators who promised to deliver reform. The need for change became even clearer after a mob of insurrectionists descended on the capital attempting to overthrow the election. 

Even so, there has been little accountability for the Jan. 6 insurrection. And the For the People Act, a hallmark voting rights bill that was formerly a top priority of Democrats in Congress, has gone nowhere. Instead, over 300 restrictive voting bills were introduced in 45 states last year, and former President Trump’s mugshot is being sold as campaign merch.

The threat of authoritarianism is alive and well across the world. Petrostates thrive under authoritarianism, and authoritarians allow petrostates to thrive. This year, major fossil fuel exporters like Venezuela and Russia will host elections. But their citizens will not be represented in elections that are free and fair. And Russia’s attempted siege of Ukraine will continue to destabilize and expose the unreliable global fossil fuel market.

The United States is the world’s top producer of oil, making it the largest petrostate of them all. We are wading between democracy and authoritarianism just as we dive head-first into the climate crisis and the 2024 election.

If the United States wants to be a global democratic leader, it must take stronger action on the climate crisis. I was at the White House for the unveiling of the Inflation Reduction Act, and while it provides a record amount of funding for climate infrastructure, it also supports and funds fossil fuel development. Young voters feel particularly betrayed by the president’s reneging of his promise to stop building fossil fuel infrastructure and support for known carbon bombs like Alaska’s oil-drilling Willow Project.

We must not underestimate our collective power. When people can choose, they choose climate justice. In Brazil, Prime Minister Jair Bolsonaro was ousted after decimating the Brazilian Amazon. In a historic first, a democratic referendum in Ecuador enabled citizens to directly vote to stop drilling in one of the most biodiverse parts of the planet. 

According to a recent study I coauthored at Yale, 44 percent of U.S. registered voters are more likely to support a candidate who supports climate justice. Relentless activism from the climate movement has made climate justice a central issue for politicians.  

Representative democracy can lead to transformative change. Right now, 25 percent of registered voters in the U.S. are “probably” or “definitely” willing to join a campaign to convince elected officials to take action to advance climate justice. Currently, only 1 percent of voters are. That means the movement for climate justice is just beginning, and we have massive potential to organize the largest movement for climate justice yet.

The solution is clear: We must mobilize en masse to force politicians to act. As we combat global authoritarian forces, we must take to the streets and mobilize voters so we can finally tackle the global climate crisis, too. The fate of our democracy and planet hangs in the balance.

Saad Amer is a climate activist with a focus on environmental justice and democracy. He is the founder of the sustainability consultancy Justice Environment and is a consultant to the United Nations.