Will climate change have affected the US elections?

With tonight's election putting the world on tenterhooks, it seems that almost anything could have affected the way that US citizens voted.

Pre-election polls have been almost neck and neck - so a matter like climate change could have been enough to swing it a particular way.

Hurricane Sandy may have changed some people's views, as it showed them the reality of climate change and the global necessity to reduce emissions.

After the disaster, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg endorsed President Obama by saying he is best placed to tackle climate change.

Since his election, Barack Obama has been adamant that something must be done about climate change.

"My presidency will mark a new chapter in America’s leadership on climate change that will strengthen our security and create millions of new jobs in the process," he said back in 2008.

"Denial is no longer an acceptable response," he warned.

President Obama was meant to introduce a cap and trade scheme, which was intended to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

However, it never reached its true potential as essentially the president had to choose to go ahead with either the healthcare reform or his climate legislation.

After choosing healthcare, the cap and trade bill died in the Senate.

Mitt Romney's stance on climate change has changed a lot throughout the years.

In his 2010 book No Apology - the case for American greatness, Romney wrote:

"I believe that climate change is occurring - the reduction in the size of global ice caps is hard to ignore.

"I also believe that human activity is a contributing factor. I am uncertain how much of the warming, however, is attributable to factors out of our control."

However, since then, he has gone on to criticise Obama by insinuating that he favours the climate above people.

It is yet to be seen whether climate change has been a big enough factor to swing people's votes.