In Virginia, disagreement about the threat of sea-level rise and climate change politics prevent action on a pressing problem.

Nearly half of the US population lives in coastal counties, meaning that climate change related sea-level rise should be a pressing concern for governments and policymakers – and yet for some it is not. Using the Virginia legislature as a case study, Juita-Elena (Wie) Yusuf, Katharine A. Neill, Burton St. John III, Ivan K. Ash and Kaitrin Mahar find that the issue of sea-level rise is politically controversial and is perceived by legislators to be a low priority policy concern, especially among those who do not represent coastal districts.. There is also significant disagreement over appropriate policy remedies to address local sea-level rise.