Climate Debates Start to Take Shape Ahead of 2020 Us Election
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involved with several US Mars missions. The centenary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party is in 2021, and a CLIMATE DEBATES START successful launch will be a “100year anniver sary gift”, says Wang Chi, a space physicist and TO TAKE SHAPE AHEAD director general of the National Space Science Center (NSSC) in Beijing, who is in charge of OF 2020 US ELECTION the scientific payloads involved in the mission. Two other international teams are planning Climate looms larger than ever before in a presidential Mars launches in July. NASA plans to deploy a rover named Perseverance, and the United election – for both Democrats and Republicans. Arab Emirates will send a probe called Hope. The European and Russian space agencies were By Jeff Tollefson planning to send a probe to Mars this year, but announced on 12 March that the launch will key debate on climate change is be delayed by two years so that they can fin coming into focus for November’s US ish important tests, and partly because of the presidential election. Voting last week coronavirus pandemic (See p324). in Michigan and several other states China’s probe, called Huoxing, will include cemented former vicepresident Joe an orbiter, a lander and a rover — the first Mars ABiden’s lead over Bernie Sanders as the person probe to include all three. The project will have to take on President Donald Trump. 13 scientific payloads, including several cam Although both Biden and Sanders, the eras, subsurface radar imagers and particle latter a Democratic senator from Vermont, analysers, as well as a magnetometer and mag have embraced the idea of a ‘green new deal’ neticfield detector. The mission’s scientific to address the challenge of global warming, goals include studying the Martian morphol their proposed policies are worlds apart. ogy, geology, soil and waterice distribution. Meanwhile, Republican leaders, seeing the Wang says the coronavirus outbreak has rise of public support for action on climate affected the way his team works, but has not change, are beginning to discuss the need to SCOTT OLSON/GETTY SCOTT yet caused delays. devise their own strategies. Last week, the team had to move six The escalating issues with COVID19 could Presidential hopeful Joe Biden celebrates a scientific payloads for the orbiter from Beijing take centre stage, but climate policy still might victory in South Carolina. to Shanghai, where they will be assembled. have its largest role yet in a US presidential Instead of risking the team members get election, says David Victor, a political scien Leadership Council, a bipartisan climate ting infected on a plane or highspeed train, tist at the University of California, San Diego. coalition that includes senior Republican 3 people drove the 6 payloads in a car — a “The Democratic base is fired up and fed up,” politicians, environmental groups and major journey that took more than 12 hours. he says. corporations — among them oil companies To limit physical contact between such as BP and ExxonMobil. employees, the NSSC has introduced a flex Whose deal? In February, this group released a detailed ible work policy that allows researchers and Sanders’s plan had generated lots of excite outline of its proposal, which centres on a engineers to come into the office only in the ment, but also concern. He anticipates the taxanddividend programme that would put a mornings or the afternoons. Basic scientists govern ment taking charge of the energy price on greenhousegas emissions and return can work from home. “We just want to reduce system and investing more than US$16 trillion the revenue to the public. the population in the centre,” says Wang. to ramp up renewableenergy production. He But even with pressure from voters Travel has been minimized, but researchers would aim to eliminate emissions from elec mounting, many observers are sceptical about who need to visit the NSSC for essential project tricity generation and transport by 2030, and whether the current generation of Republicans testing can get approval to stay at the centre’s achieve carbon neutrality by midcentury. will actually raise their hands and vote for a guest rooms without quarantining themselves Biden’s plans are less clear, but he, too, carbon tax. for the required two weeks. “Because this is a has promised to put the United States on a “I remain dubious,” says Sam Ricketts, big national project, usually the local govern course to carbon neutrality by 2050. He talks a senior fellow at the Center for American ment office gives us a green light,” says Wang. about investing in cleanenergy innovation, Progress, a progressive think tank in More than 20 research teams and some incentivizing the deployment of lowcarbon Washington DC. If Biden is elected, Ricketts 70 scientists across China are involved in technologies and advancing regulations on says, he might have to develop a broader the development of the craft’s instruments greenhousegas emissions — programmes that agenda on less controversial fronts, and scientific investigations, says Wang. To would revive and extend the policies of for including green infrastructure and jobs ensure communication between these teams mer president Barack Obama. Biden has also programmes that run alongside aggressive during the coronavirus outbreak, technical said he supports a federal carbon tax, which new cleanenergy requirements. evaluations have been done through virtual Sanders has rejected as insufficient. But first, he needs votes. Victor says Biden’s meetings, he says. Conservatives are also feeling the pressure next challenge will be to bring Sanders’s sup Another impact of the outbreak is that no to act on climate change. Businesses are porters on board and make sure they don’t sit guests will be allowed to attend the launch in increasingly calling for a coordinated federal out the election in protest. One way to do that July, says Wang. At the late 2018 launch event climate policy, and Republican leaders have is to flesh out his policies and make it clear that for China’s lunar probe, Chang’e4, the teams begun talking about plans. “The party is at climate change is a top priority, Ricketts says. responsible for the payloads invited some 100 risk of haemorrhaging younger voters on cli “This is an opportunity for him to speak to the guests, including international collaborators. mate,” says Ted Halstead, chair of the Climate progressives and young voters.” Nature | Vol 579 | 19 March 2020 | 329 ©2020 Spri nger Nature Li mited. All rights reserved. ©2020 Spri nger Nature Li mited. All rights reserved. .