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Just the Facts:
Addressing Climate Change in Texas While Strengthening our Economy
August 2025
Summary: Climate change is a serious threat to Texas, but the good news is that there is a lot we can do, and addressing climate change will help our economy and make Texas stronger.
Climate change is a serious threat to Texas
According to Public Citizen, Texas is the state most vulnerable to climate change. It makes sense - we are at risk for hurricanes, flooding, heat waves, droughts and wildfires, all of which are made more dangerous because of climate change. (1)
A solid majority of Texans - over 80% - believe that climate change is happening, and most Texans believe that it is caused mostly by human activities. We know that burning fossil fuels produce greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide. This causes our atmosphere to trap more heat and causes the planet to warm up. (2)
Texans are feeling the effects:
Since the 1970s, the average number of days with temperatures over 100 degrees have more than doubled. Temperatures in Texas have risen almost 1.5˚ F since the beginning of the 20th century. (3)
These hotter temperatures cause extreme downpours, as hot air holds more water. We are seeing more frequent and severe flooding, including Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and the tragic floods in the Texas Hill Country in July of 2025. (4)
Sea levels are rising as well. Some cities along the Gulf Coast could disappear by 2100. (5)
Droughts and wildfires - The rising heat increases the risks of longer and more intense wildfire seasons. Droughts are also likely to become much more severe. (6)
Climate change is also increasing the number of costly and dangerous natural disasters. In the 1980s and 90s, Texas had one or two billion-dollar disasters a year. But now, it is common to have 10 or more major disasters every year. (7)
What can we do about climate change?
Unfortunately, under Republican leadership Texas is not doing nearly enough to address the risks of climate change.
In fact, there are some hard truths to face. The 2024 Republican Party Platform of Texas specifically states that "we oppose environmentalism, or “climate change“ initiatives, that obstruct legitimate business interests and private property use…” (8)
The GOP platform also states that they want to reclassify carbon dioxide as a non-pollutant, abolish the Environmental Protection Agency, and repeal the Endangered Species Act. (8) They are also actively discouraging wind and solar development. But the good news is that there is a lot we can do here in Texas, and addressing climate change is actually good for our economy. These actions fall into two broad categories: things we can do to reduce future warming, called “Mitigation”, and things we can do to prepare for the warming that has already happened, called “Adaptation”.
Here are some of the things we can do to Mitigate climate change - to make it less severe:
1. Support and invest in clean energy. Texas is already a leader in wind and solar. We can build on that leadership, making our energy system more reliable while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. (9)
2. Support and invest in electrification of transportation, including a stronger electric vehicle charging network. This will encourage more of our transportation to convert to electricity instead of fossil fuels, which produces much less greenhouse gases. (10)
3. Support improvements in building efficiency, which are responsible for 40% of U.S. Carbon Dioxide Emissions. (11)
And we should also take action to PREPARE for the climate change that is already threatening our state.
1. First, we should develop a state level climate adaptation plan. Many states already have one, and Texas needs it worse than most. (12)
2. Second, we need to invest in infrastructure upgrades. This includes better early warning systems and communications networks for emergency response. (13)
3. Also, new designs and upgrades to roads, bridges, water systems and buildings to prepare for increases in severe droughts, floods, intense heatwaves and hurricanes. (13)
Addressing Climate Change will make Texas stronger
Action on climate change would HELP the Texas Economy. By investing in resilient infrastructure, modern energy systems, and preparedness, Texas can mitigate the billions of dollars of losses to climate disasters.
Also, transitioning to clean energy sources offers opportunities to create new jobs, industries, and export markets while reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
And all of this helps to reduce risk, making Texas a better place to live, work and invest.
Conclusion: We need the leaders running our government to take action. The Texas Democratic Party Platform prioritizes both mitigation and adaptation climate change policies. The Texas Republican Party does not. That is why we need historic levels of voter turnout in 2026 to get Democrats elected. Join the most effective voter turnout strategy – relational organizing – visit Texas Blue Action at https://www.texasblueaction.com/.
Sources
1. Public Citizen, "Climate Change in Texas", https://www.citizen.org/climate-change-in-texas/
2. University of Houston, Hobby School of Public Affairs, and Texas Southern University, 2021, https://uh.edu/hobby/carbonmanagement/carbon_management_survey_partisanship_may_4__2021.pdf
3. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, https://statesummaries.ncics.org/chapter/tx/:
https://www.climatecentral.org/graphic/extremely-hot-summer-days-2025graphicSet=Local+Extremely+Hot+Summer+Days+at+CSI+2+or+Higher&location=McAllen&lang=en
4. Attributable Human‐Induced Changes in the Likelihood and Magnitude of the Observed Extreme Precipitation during Hurricane Harvey - Risser - 2017 - Geophysical Research Letters - Wiley Online Library - https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2017GL075888
5. Newsweek – 4/10/24 - Texas Map Shows Where State Will Become Underwater From Sea Level Rise - https://www.newsweek.com/texas-map-sea-level-rise-coastline-climate-change-1887695
6. Texas Tribune, 3/1/24 - https://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/01/texas-wildfires-climate-change/
7. NOAA, https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/state-summary/TX
8. 2024 Texas Republican Platform, https://texasgop.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2024-RPT-Platform.pdf, paragraph 43
9. Texas Economic Development Corporation, 4/30/25, https://businessintexas.com/blog/texas-leads-us-renewable-energy-growth/
10. Union of Concerned Scientists,
https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2019/05/State%2520Benefits%2520of%2520EVs_batch%25202_TX.pdf
11. Environmental and Energy Study Instititue - https://www.eesi.org/topics/built-infrastructure/description
12. Georgetown Climate Center, https://www.georgetownclimate.org/adaptation/plans.html
13. Texas 2036 - https://texas2036.org/posts/texas-future-depends-on-extreme-weather-preparedness-new-studies-show/