He also criticized the Republican Party for its relative lack of action on the matter, telling
Woodruff, "The Republican Party has to acknowledge it's a problem. This president won't."
Click for Joe Walsh on other issues.
Source: Business Insider background for 2019 GOP presidential debate
Joe Walsh on Energy & Oil
: Sep 24, 2019
Acknowledge the real problem of climate change
Q: More than half of Republicans believe human activity is affecting the world's climate. Younger Republicans are also increasingly concerned about the environment. Are you?Joe Walsh: Yeah, the Republican Party had better get onboard or they're done.
This is the issue that concerns most young Americans, and the party's got to acknowledge the facts that it exists. Acknowledge that it's real. Acknowledge that on this four and a half billion year old planet, the climate changes and we've been on this
planet for how long, and clearly we're impacting this environment. If we don't do this, we won't even be at the table. I don't want a Green New Deal--
I don't want the Democrats coming in and just re-revolutionizing the whole American economy, to a heavy hand of the government--but if Republicans don't sit at the table and acknowledge it's a problem, that's going to happen.
Click for Joe Walsh on other issues.
Source: Business Insider 2019 GOP presidential primary debate
Kamala Harris on Environment
: Sep 12, 2019
We turned brown skies to blue by taking on oil companies
When I think about [environmental] issues, it really is through the lens of my baby nieces. When I look at what is going to be the world if we do nothing, when they turn 20, I am really scared. [Climate change] is a problem that was created by
human behaviors. And we can change our behaviors in a way that saves our planet. I've seen it happen in California.
As the attorney general of California, I took on the big oil companies and we saw progress. If any of you have been to Los Angeles,
20 years ago, you'll remember, that sky was brown. You go there now, the sky is blue and you know why? Because leaders decided to lead and we took on these big fossil fuel companies.
We have some of the most important and strongest
laws in the country and we made a difference. And my point being, I've done it before and I will lead as president on this issue because we have no time, the clock is ticking, but we need courage, and we need courageous leadership. We can get this done.
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: September Democratic Primary debate in Houston
Andrew Yang on Government Reform
: Sep 12, 2019
Wash out corrupt lobbyist money with people-powered money
Q [to Senator Elizabeth Warren]: Should American foreign policy be based around the principle of climate change?WARREN: Yes. Why doesn't it happen? As long as Washington is paying more attention to money than it is to our future, we can't make
the changes we need to make.
YANG: To follow up, why are we losing to the fossil fuel companies?
WARREN: Yes.
YANG: Why are we losing to the gun lobby and the NRA? And is answer is this: our government has been overrun by money and
corporate interests. Now, everyone here has a plan to try to curb those corporate interests, but we have to face facts. Money finds a way. Money will find its way back in. So, what is the answer? The answer is to wash the money out with
people-powered money. My proposal is that we give every American 100 "Democracy Dollars" that you can only give to candidates and causes that you like. This would wash out the lobbyist cash by a factor of eight to one. That is the only way we will win.
Click for Andrew Yang on other issues.
Source: September Democratic Primary debate in Houston
Joe Biden on Government Reform
: Sep 12, 2019
Immediate focus on health care, education, climate change
I refuse to postpone one more minute spending billions of dollars on curing cancer, Alzheimer's, and other diseases which, if we invest in them, we can find cures. I refuse to postpone giving single child in
America, no matter their zip code, pre-K all the way through high school and beyond. I refuse to postpone any longer taking on climate change.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: September Democratic Primary debate in Houston
Bernie Sanders on Government Reform
: Sep 12, 2019
Power to the people, not the billionaires
We have to recognize that this country is moving into an oligarchic society where a handful of billionaires control the economic and political life. As president, I am prepared to take them on. Yes, we will raise the minimum wage to a living wage.
Yes, we will finally make sure that every American has health care as a human right, not a privilege. And, yes, we will address the catastrophic crisis of climate change and transform our energy system away from fossil fuel.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: September Democratic Primary debate in Houston
Julian Castro on Education
: Sep 4, 2019
School curriculum should include climate change
Q: Should climate change be taught in schools? CASTRO: I believe that it should. In fact, it's essential if we want to raise a generation of Americans that will do right by our planet, make the little decisions in life that are going to help ensure
that we can get where we need to get to get to net zero. We need to end the system of people that get elected and then sit on a state-wide board that determines what is in curriculum. Too often right wing conservatives have taken over thes
Click for Julian Castro on other issues.
Source: Climate Crisis Town Hall (CNN 2019 Democratic primary)
Kamala Harris on Energy & Oil
: Sep 4, 2019
Shouldn't sell/lease public land for drilling
Q: How do you plan to support already at-risk and marginalized people who are experiencing the impact of climate change now? HARRIS: Ultimately, it's about empowering communities that are often ignored. All of those communities have been
disproportionately impacted by the change that we are seeing in our climate, not to mention the kind of behaviors by the fossil fuel industry that have been about pollution, about dumping and all that.
It should be our responsibility to make sure that we leverage the incredible power we have in a way that is about empowering the communities that have been long overlooked and ignored.
Q: What about public lands?
HARRIS: We should not be selling or leasing public land for the purposes of drilling. One of my greatest priorities on this subject will be about preservation of public lands.
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: Climate Crisis Town Hall (CNN 2019 Democratic primary)
Amy Klobuchar on Energy & Oil
: Sep 4, 2019
Our mission: solve climate crisis, without harming economy
Q: In a recent interview on climate change and coal, you said it doesn't make sense to "get rid of all these industries or do this in a few years." Talk about the timing.KLOBUCHAR: The timing is to make this our mission, like landing on the moon, or
the Civil Rights movement where our country came together and said we're going to solve something. And when do you that, you get the new technology and the new results. I was being honest, I don't think we can phase it out in a few years. To me that's
like 2 or 3 or 4 years. Right? You have to do it over a period of time, you have to be aware of where people are working and how are you going to do this in a way that keeps our economy going and keeps our economy strong. There is an old Ojibway saying
that "great leaders should make decisions not for this generation but for seven generations from now." [We should] put that money into R&D and work with the private sector, perfect the storage for energy, the sooner we can do this, the better.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: CNN Climate Crisis Town Hall marathon (10 Democrats)
Beto O`Rourke on Energy & Oil
: Sep 4, 2019
El Paso and other southern cities will become uninhabitable
Climate change is a personal issue for me. El Paso, Texas, is the second fastest warming city in the US today. We've had more than 14 days over 100 degrees over the month of August which broke the record for as long as we've been studying records in our
community.My son Henry, who's 8 years old, when I was talking to him the other night, he asked me, "Dad, if you win and you become president, we get to live in El Paso right?" And I said, "No, if we win, the way this works we would live in Washington
DC" But he knew because I had told him about the warming that we face, that our community will be uninhabitable, not sustain human life, along this current trajectory, unless something dramatically and fundamentally changes. So the people of El Paso--
and the desert Southwest and the lower 9th Ward in New Orleans--are counting on all of us right now to stand up and be counted and do the right thing to ensure that we do not warm a degree and a half Celsius over those pre-industrial revolution levels.
Click for Beto O`Rourke on other issues.
Source: CNN Climate Crisis Town Hall marathon (10 Democrats)
Pete Buttigieg on Energy & Oil
: Sep 4, 2019
Federal investment in renewable tech for farms
Q: How will you help farmers meet environmental regulations?BUTTIGIEG: Uncertainty is one of the biggest enemies that a farmer has, and we're adding an awful lot of it with what's happening with climate change. Rural Americans can be a huge part of
the solution. To me, the quest for the net zero emissions cattle farm is one of the most exciting things we might undertake as a country. It can be done right now, scientifically, but it's completely unaffordable. We need to change the eco
And, yes, that means federal investment.
Q: You support a carbon tax?
BUTTIGIEG: We need balance in all of our consumption patterns and part of what a carbon tax and dividend does is it resets the price signals in the market to help make that happen
without ordering Americans to abandon something. Instead we change the economic signals. We bring it into balance, which is what we have lost when it comes to our relationship with creation, with the earth that sustains our ability to live
Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.
Source: Climate Crisis Town Hall (CNN 2019 Democratic primary)
Beto O`Rourke on Energy & Oil
: Sep 4, 2019
Use cap and trade revenue to underwrite transition economy
Q: How would you make going green more affordable? O'ROURKE: I was talking about cap and trade. That revenue is used to help Americans meet the costs of a transitioning economy by making sure that all of us can meet our obligations when it comes to
climate change. So that's investment in those communities that are on the front lines, that's investment in making sure that you can afford solar panels or an electric vehicle. That's an investment in communities to make sure that we have
housing that is closer to where people work.
Q: Would you bring back the Obama-era environmental regulations that Trump canceled?
O'ROURKE: Absolutely. Higher vehicle emissions standards, a clean power plan so that the electricity that
we're generating is clean, and we completely electrify our transportation sector. So yes, let's not only reverse the damage that Donald Trump has done, and he's done a lot. Let's go much further than any administration before his has gone.
Click for Beto O`Rourke on other issues.
Source: Climate Crisis Town Hall (CNN 2019 Democratic primary)
Beto O`Rourke on Energy & Oil
: Sep 4, 2019
Pay carbon cost, so we don't have to change what we eat
What we eat, what we consume, how we live is all going to have reflect the true cost of carbon and climate change and pollution. I'm confident that ranchers are going to be able to meet the targets that we set. I believe that we can be up to these
challenges and reject any notion that we have to radically or fundamentally change how we eat or what we eat. I think the best way to do that is to allow the markets to respond by setting a price on carbon in every single part of our econo
No new oil and gas leases offshore. No new oil and gas leases on Federally protected lands, all existing leases will reflect the true costs of pollution, climate change and carbon.
I think that's the best way to keep that oil and gas in the ground and make sure that we fully free ourselves from a dependence on fossil fuels.
Click for Beto O`Rourke on other issues.
Source: Climate Crisis Town Hall (CNN 2019 Democratic primary)
Cory Booker on Energy & Oil
: Sep 4, 2019
Zero carbon by 2030 requires nuclear as part of the blend
Q: You say nuclear energy is key to fighting climate change. The fact is there are currently no safe ways or permanent ways to dispose of the most dangerous radioactive waste. BOOKER: So this is where study and science is really important.
So let's deal with the facts and the data. When I was mayor of the city of Newark, I used to have strong people come in with strong opinions & strong emotions. I used to say, "in God we trust, but everybody else bring me data."
And we need to look at the numbers right now. So my plan says that we need to be at a zero carbon electricity by 2030. That's 10 years from the time that I will win the presidency of the United States of America. And right now, nuclear is more than
50% of our non-carbon causing energy. So people who think that we can get there without nuclear being part of the blend just aren't looking at the facts.
Click for Cory Booker on other issues.
Source: CNN Climate Crisis Town Hall marathon (10 Democrats)
Joe Biden on Energy & Oil
: Sep 4, 2019
Undo what Trump has done, from CAFE to other standards
Q: What specific steps would you take in your first year that would help mitigate the impact of climate change?BIDEN: First of all, we have to turn back all of the changes that the president has made, from CAFE standards to moving in a direction that
we deal with providing people who get displaced opportunities to have jobs. Whole range of things. I would see to a standard that we provide efficiency for appliances, that saves billions of gallons of gasoline--$500 billion in savings and two billion
metric tons of CO2 going into the air. We should do it across the board. I propose we have 500,000 charging stations in the new green economy. We should own the electric vehicle market. I think we should raise the CAFE standards, bring them
back to where they were. It goes on from there. But the bottom line is, to set in place standards that cannot be walked away from when the next president does what Trump tries to do.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: CNN Climate Crisis Town Hall marathon (10 Democrats)
Cory Booker on Energy & Oil
: Sep 4, 2019
GOP is only party on earth that denies climate change
Q: How will you communicate effectively to the skeptics on climate change?BOOKER: Let's understand the reality we're in right now is young Republicans, millennial Republicans are really with us. I'm not one of these people that wants to vilify
an entire party. The reality is the people that need to be vilified are Republicans in Congress who are the only major political party on the planet Earth whose leadership denies the science of climate change--remember in
Europe, there are right wing parties, left wing parties [and all believe in climate change]. The battle we have right now is the obstruction that is going on by the Congressional Republican Party.
And what is important, is that this is as much a cultural battle as it is a political battle, which is letting folks know who aren't with us.
Click for Cory Booker on other issues.
Source: CNN Climate Crisis Town Hall marathon (10 Democrats)
Joe Biden on Energy & Oil
: Sep 4, 2019
Start on climate change now; do more as things change
Q: Your climate plan calls for net zero emissions by 2050. Others are talking 10 years. Your climate change plan talks about spending $1.7 trillion. Other candidates are talking about spending $16 trillion. Is your plan aggressive enough? BIDEN: Yes,
I think it is aggressive enough. It has gotten good reviews from most of the environmental community. But science and technology are going to change. We learn more, we can do more. We have to start and do things we know can be done immedia
keep moving. There's a lot we have to do by 2030 just to set in place a set of institutional structures that mean you can't turn it around, like this president has done. It is an existential threat. There is no doubt about that. We make up 15% of the
problem. The rest of the world makes up 80%, 85% of the problem. We still have to get the rest of the world to come along. I have great experience in leading coalitions both at home and internationally. I think I can do that better than an
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: Climate Crisis Town Hall (CNN 2019 Democratic primary)
Julian Castro on Energy & Oil
: Sep 4, 2019
The ice caps are melting; the Amazon is on fire
[Climate change] is the most existential threat to our country's future. And the U.N. has told us that we have about 12 years to get this right or the consequences could be catastrophic. We see that now.Hurricane Dorian that's about to hit landfall.
These hurricanes are happening more frequently and they're happening with greater intensity. It seems like these floods, that they call 500-year floods, are happening every other year now.
We see the arctic ice caps that are melting, the Amazon on fire. So we don't need climate scientists to tell us what we see with our own eyes.
When I see these things, when I hear about them, what I think of are my own two children, who are 10 and 4.
And there's a resolve to make sure that our children inherit a planet that is healthy, where they're going to breathe clean air and drink clean water.
Click for Julian Castro on other issues.
Source: CNN Climate Crisis Town Hall marathon (10 Democrats)
Beto O`Rourke on Environment
: Sep 4, 2019
Even conservatives want to protect public lands
Q: Republicans used to be the protectors of nature?O'ROURKE: I'm thinking about Teddy Roosevelt, one of the great Republican leaders who was so instrumental in protecting our public lands. I campaigned across Texas. Every one of the counties that
I went to, we talked about climate change. I found that this is more of a popular issue across party lines than I would have imagined. This is something that can unite us. We just have to speak boldly and confidently about a progressive ag
allows us to get there.
Q: What about environmental disasters?
O'ROURKE: We should help people move when they need to move, when they've repaired their homes not once, not twice but three times just in the last five years. This is an issue
of environmental justice. Let's invest in the people on the front lines of climate change, to rebuild where we can and to move where we must. It's not an inexpensive proposition but what is far more expensive is to continue to pay to rebui
Click for Beto O`Rourke on other issues.
Source: Climate Crisis Town Hall (CNN 2019 Democratic primary)
Pete Buttigieg on Families & Children
: Sep 4, 2019
Generational justice for those who'll come in the future
Q: How do you and [your husband] Chasten think about leaving the world a better place, particularly around the climate change issues, to the next generation and any children you may choose to raise?BUTTIGIEG: Well, we're hoping to have kids one day.
And I want to know that our kids can thrive. When I got into this campaign, I talked a lot about the idea of generational justice. And at first, people looked at me funny, because I don't think it's something that's been talked about much, but each of
us has an obligation to do our part not only to be just to those around us, but to those who will come in the future. When we're on the campaign trail, the questions I get from kids are almost always either about gun violence or about climate.
These are personal questions. They're asking about whether they're going to be able to thrive. Again, it's why I think this isn't just saving the planet. This is saving the future for specific people who are alive right now.
Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.
Source: CNN Climate Crisis Town Hall marathon (10 Democrats)
Beto O`Rourke on Foreign Policy
: Sep 4, 2019
Syrian War partly based on climate; expect more migration
I read the work that scientists produce [on climate change]. I also read a book that changed fundamentally how I look at this: The Uninhabitable Earth, which describes the consequences of our inaction--in the year 2100, this planet will have
warmed five degrees Celsius. As scientists say, at that point we are screwed. We will not be able to live in the places that we call home today. There will be a fierce competition for resources. Wars that were precipitated by climate change like Syria
will pale in comparison to the wars that we see in the future. And if you think that apprehending 400,000 at the US-Mexico border last year was a big number, wait until some parts of the Western Hemisphere can no longer support human life because that's
exactly where we are headed unless we decide to change course [within] 10 years. We do not have any room for error. Those scientists will be part of the team leading the effort in my administration and we will be up to this challenge and overcome it.
Click for Beto O`Rourke on other issues.
Source: CNN Climate Crisis Town Hall marathon (10 Democrats)
Andrew Yang on Foreign Policy
: Sep 4, 2019
US should lead the way on climate change
The U.S. is vital to building an international consensus on climate change. We need to act first because, by forming the table and saying who's with us on this, we can galvanize dozens of our allies and partners in the Western world.
The U.S. has always been a global leader. We are still the focal point of the world's economy. And if we lead on this, then we can move people in the right direction very quickly.
Click for Andrew Yang on other issues.
Source: Climate Crisis Town Hall (CNN 2019 Democratic primary)
Pete Buttigieg on Foreign Policy
: Sep 4, 2019
Syrian Civil War partially based on climate security
Some of the things [done by President Trump on climate change] by executive action we can do undo by executive action. But this time, let's actually some put legislation behind it so it's not at the whim of a president.But I think the real issue,
especially in very conservative places like where I live in Indiana, the real conversation we've got to have is about what's at stake here beyond the traditional battle lines that have been drawn. This ought to be a bipartisan issue.
This once was a bipartisan issue. And now it's gone completely off the rails.
So let's talk about some other dimensions of what's at stake. Let's talk about national security at a time when our military leaders say that this is one of the greatest
threats to stability. There's a lot of evidence that the Syria civil war is one of the first that was partly caused as a consequence of climate change. We really want to talk about security, let's talk about securing the lives of future generations.
Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.
Source: CNN Climate Crisis Town Hall marathon (10 Democrats)
Cory Booker on Free Trade
: Sep 4, 2019
Labor & environment should be at center of every trade deal
Everything that I do will be done through a green lens in the urgency of climate change. So every lever that I have on foreign policy-- Number one, I see our president meeting with world leaders.
I mean, he meets with Putin and won't even bring up the fact that he's attacking our elections right now but that soft power you can make it a priority [with] everybody you talk with.
You have billion of dollars of foreign aid going to countries all around this planet that should be contingent on doing things on climate.
You have your trade deals: labor and climate should be the center of any trade deal we do right now. You have alliances as well.
Click for Cory Booker on other issues.
Source: CNN Climate Crisis Town Hall marathon (10 Democrats)
Bernie Sanders on Health Care
: Sep 4, 2019
We lose 30,000 people a year due to not going to the doctor
Q: Of all of your ambitious plans--free public college, Medicare-for-all, eliminating student debt, Green New Deal--SANDERS: Keep going. You're doing great!
Q: What is the priority on climate change compared to all these others, if you have to
choose?
SANDERS: Well, I have the radical idea that a sane Congress can walk and chew bubble gum at the same time. And, you know, there are so many crises that are out there today. I worry very much that we lose 30,000 people a year because they
don't have the money to go to a doctor when they should and that 87 million people are uninsured or underinsured. And I will implement as president a Medicare-for-all single-payer program. So to my mind, it's not prioritizing this over that.
It is finally having a government which represents working families and the middle class rather than wealthy campaign contributors. And when you do that, then things fall in place.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: CNN Climate Crisis Town Hall marathon (10 Democrats)
Bernie Sanders on Jobs
: Sep 4, 2019
Help transition for miners: income for 5 years, & education
Q: How would you help workers of the fossil fuel industry transition to other respectable fields of work in a future green economy?SANDERS: The coal miners in this country, the men and women who work on the oil rigs, they are not my enemy.
My enemy is climate change. We have built into our $16 trillion plan, tens of billions of dollars for a just transition.
If some worker loses their job because we're moving away from fossil fuel, we're going to guarantee them an income for five years, the education they need, because those workers are not our enemies.
They should not be punished because we're trying to save the planet.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Climate Crisis Town Hall (CNN 2019 Democratic primary)
Amy Klobuchar on Jobs
: Sep 4, 2019
Focus on rural & job aspects of green energy transition
Q: Do you support a jobs guarantee as part of a climate plan or do you think we risk losing support for a climate plan by mixing the issues of climate change and full employment?KLOBUCHAR: I think that we have to make jobs and employment a major part
of this. Let's look at the facts even in today's economy--wind & solar are some of the growing areas for new jobs. In today's economy 99% of the wind [energy generation] is going to be rural. So there's a lot of exciting things that can happen in rural
America out of this. So there's a lot of new jobs. So for me, as you are transitioning out of coal--as you are replacing this oil with electric cars and other new technology--you make sure that people that are working in those fossil fuel industries
have jobs. So we do worker training--to make sure that we're ready to find jobs that are suiting the skills that they've had that they've built over the years.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: CNN Climate Crisis Town Hall marathon (10 Democrats)
Kamala Harris on Technology
: Sep 4, 2019
All electric cars and school buses by 2045
Q: At a rally in Atlanta earlier this year you said, "Without much change to your lifestyle we could confront climate change." Is that realistic that as regular Americans we don't have to make many sacrifices? HARRIS: I'm not saying there won't be
any change but part of my perspective on this is I've actually seen what's possible when leaders lead. I've seen how in California we put in place some of the toughest, smartest laws and required changes in behavior and we saw outcomes.
And I don't think anybody who has lived in California over all those years would say there was any drastic change to their lifestyle. Yes, they may say "well, I'm now driving a car that I can't really hear sometimes." You know, that Prius, right?
Q: S
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: CNN Climate Crisis Town Hall marathon (10 Democrats)
Andrew Yang on Technology
: Sep 4, 2019
Apply geoengineering fixes, but ALSO reduce carbon emissions
Q: Your platform relies on geoengineering, including carbon removal technology?YANG: Geoengineering is not the primary approach at all; we have to reduce emissions first and foremost. And if you look at my plan, of the $5 trillion, like a fraction
of one of the trillions is looking at geoengineering. We have to get the best of emissions as the primary driver of climate change. Geoengineering, I just want us to think a very, very big picture of what's happening. Imagine a country like
China 25 years from now who is going to be bearing the brunt of climate change. They're not very consultative, so you can imagine them doing something that affects us and the rest of the world, spraying sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere.
So, we need to face facts about the scope of the challenge and lead globally. So, I would convene a geoengineering summit and get countries from around the world to make sure that we don't have rogue actors just going off on their own.
Click for Andrew Yang on other issues.
Source: CNN Climate Crisis Town Hall marathon (10 Democrats)
Pete Buttigieg on Welfare & Poverty
: Sep 4, 2019
Every religion says we should care for our neighbors
Q: In Indiana, only 51% of people believe that human activity is the reason for climate change. What would say to the people who say, "I'm not so sure about this?"BUTTIGIEG: Let's talk in language that is understood across the heartland about faith.
If you believe that God is watching as poison is being belched into the air of creation, and people are being harmed by it, countries are at risk of vanishing in low-lying areas, what do you suppose God think of that? I bet he thinks it's messed up.
You don't have to be religious to see the moral dimensions of this, because, frankly, every religious and non-religious moral tradition tells us that we have some responsibility of stewardship, some responsibility for taking care of what's around us,
not to mention taking care of our neighbor. And eventually it gets to the point where this is more about specific people suffering specific harm because of what we're doing right now. At least one way of talking about this is that it's a kind of sin.
Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.
Source: CNN Climate Crisis Town Hall marathon (10 Democrats)
Joe Walsh on Energy & Oil
: Aug 29, 2019
No more partisanship on climate change, it's real
Q: Have you changed your views on climate change?WALSH: Yes. It's an issue I was just blindly partisan about. No more of that.
It's real and It's an issue that the Republican Party needs a seat at the table with. We need to acknowledge it and begin working on solutions.
Click for Joe Walsh on other issues.
Source: Buzzfeed.com on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Andrew Yang on Energy & Oil
: Aug 9, 2019
Provide developing countries alternatives to fossil fuels
The first step to any action on climate change is to rejoin the Paris Accords so that we have the moral authority and allies in order to fight the existential threat that is climate change. In order to combat the development of fossil fuel power
expanding to developing countries, we have to provide a viable alternative.
Click for Andrew Yang on other issues.
Source: Council on Foreign Relations on 2020 presidential primary
Kamala Harris on Energy & Oil
: Jul 31, 2019
Rejoin Paris Accord on Day One; carbon neutral by 2030
Gov. Jay Inslee: : Climate change is not a singular issue, it is all the issues that we Democrats care about. It is health. It is national security. It is our economy. The science tells us we have to get off coal in 10 years. We have to have off of
fossil fuels in our electrical grid in 15. And we need a president to do it or it won't get done.Harris: I have to agree with Governor Inslee. We currently have a president in the White House who obviously does not understand the science.
The guy thinks that wind turbines cause cancer, but what in fact what they cause is jobs. I would take any Democrat on this stage over the current president of the United States.
We must have and adopt a Green New Deal. On day one I would re-enter us in the Paris agreement. And put in place so we would be carbon neutral by 2030.
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (second night in Detroit)
Tulsi Gabbard on Energy & Oil
: Jul 31, 2019
Off Fossil Fuel Act: plan to deal with climate change
Long before there was ever a Green New Deal, I introduced the most ambitious climate change legislation ever in Congress called the Off Fossil Fuels Act. That actually laid out an actionable plan to take us from where we are
today to transition off of fossil fuels and invest in green renewable energy, invest in workforce training, invest in the kinds of infrastructure that we need to deal with the problems and the challenges that climate is posing to us today.
Click for Tulsi Gabbard on other issues.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (second night in Detroit)
Joe Biden on Energy & Oil
: Jul 31, 2019
Rejoin and raise standards of Paris Climate Accord
Gov. Jay Inslee: Climate change is not a singular issue, it is all the issues that we Democrats care about. It is health. It is national security. It is our economy. And we know this; middle ground solutions, like the vice president has proposed,
are not going to save us.Biden: There is no middle ground about my plan. We're responsible for 15% of all the pollution in the country. 85% of it is something
I helped negotiate; and that is the Paris Climate Accord. I would immediately rejoin that Paris Accord. I would make sure that we up the ante which it calls for.
I would be able to bring those leaders together and I would raise the standard. I also invested $400 billion in research for new alternatives to deal with climate change.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (second night in Detroit)
Cory Booker on Energy & Oil
: Jul 31, 2019
Climate change is the lens through which we view every issue
[Like President Trump exiting the Paris Climate Accord], there was another president that would not join an international accord. Then it was the Kyoto accords [under President Bush]. I was mayor then. And I stood up in national leadership
joining with other mayors to say climate change is not a separate issue. It must be the lens with which we view every issue.
Nobody should get applause for rejoining the Paris climate accords. We have to make sure that everything from our trade deals, everything from the billions of dollars we spend to foreign aid, everything must be sublimated to dealing with
the climate threat.Yes, the majority of this problem is outside the United States, but the only way we're going to deal with this is if the United States leads.
Click for Cory Booker on other issues.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (second night in Detroit)
Kirsten Gillibrand on Environment
: Jul 31, 2019
Why not have clean air and clean water for all Americans?
I will not only sign the Paris global climate accords. The greatest threat to humanity is global climate change. We need a robust solution. When John F. Kennedy said I want to put a man on the moon in the next 10 years, not because it's easy, but
because it's hard, he knew it was going to be a measure of our ability to galvanize worldwide competition. He wanted to have a space race with Russia. Why not have a green energy race with China? Why not have clean air and clean water for all Americans?
Click for Kirsten Gillibrand on other issues.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (second night in Detroit)
Jay Inslee on Environment
: Jul 31, 2019
Middle ground solutions aren't going to save our air & water
INSLEE: Climate change is not a singular issue, it is all the issues that we Democrats care about. It is health. It is national security. It is our economy. And we know this; middle ground solutions, like the vice president has proposed, or sort of
middling average-sized things, are not going to save us. Too little, too late is too dangerous. It doesn't matter what your zip code is, it doesn't matter what your color is, you ought to have clear air and clear water.V.P. Joe BIDEN:
There is no middle ground about my plan.
INSLEE: These deadlines are set by science. Mr. Vice President, your argument is not with me, it's with science. Unfortunately, your plan is just too late. The science tells us we have to get off coal in
10 years. Your plan does not do that. We have to have off of fossil fuels in our electrical grid in 15. Your plan simply does not do that. I believe that survival is realistic, and that's the kind of plan we need. And that's the kind I have.
Click for Jay Inslee on other issues.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (second night in Detroit)
Joe Sestak on Energy & Oil
: Jul 30, 2019
Rejoin Paris Accord; US must restore global leadership
I will immediately move to re-join the Paris Climate Accord, and not only work to compel nations to meet their commitments but to increase them. It is absolutely imperative that we restore US global leadership in this critical multilateral effort so
that we can collectively disarm the catastrophic threat of climate change. We simply cannot do it alone: the United States can only achieve 15% of the required reduction of greenhouse gas emissions on our own before that time bomb explodes on us.
Click for Joe Sestak on other issues.
Source: Council on Foreign Relations on 2020 presidential primary
Steve Bullock on Energy & Oil
: Jul 30, 2019
Climate change vs. jobs: that's a false choice
BULLOCK: All of us agree that we have address climate change. The Republicans won't even acknowledge that climate change is real, and that's because of the corrupting influence and money. As we transition to this clean energy economy, there are folks
that have spent their whole life powering our country, and far too often, Democrats sound like they're part of the problem. We got to make sure to aid in those transition as we get to a carbon neutral world, which I think we can do by 2020.
Sen. Bernie Sanders: We are going to provide and make sure that those workers have a transition, new jobs, healthcare and education.
BULLOCK: We've set this false choice far too often. Are we going to actually address climate change?
Or are we going to give people a better shot at a better life? You can do both, but let's actually have the scientists drive this. Let's not just talk about plans that are written for press releases.
Click for Steve Bullock on other issues.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (first night in Detroit)
Seth Moulton on Energy & Oil
: Jul 30, 2019
Need to make climate change a top priority
We need to make clean energy more cost-effective than coal for developing countries. We should also rejoin the Paris Climate Accord immediately, and we must also go further. If we hope to not only save the planet but also remain the economic
and diplomatic leaders of it, we need to make climate change a top priority in our investment, foreign policy, and national security decisions. And we must do so now before it's too late.
Click for Seth Moulton on other issues.
Source: Council on Foreign Relations on 2020 presidential primary
Pete Buttigieg on Free Trade
: Jul 30, 2019
Support African nations; recognize market opportunities
Africa is not a country: it is a diverse and multifaceted continent of states. Our priorities should include helping our African partners: accountable governance, climate change mitigation and conflict prevention. That continent now boasts some of the
fastest-growing economies in the world, which have lifted millions out of poverty and into the global marketplace. Sub-Saharan Africa represents one of the biggest opportunities for new markets for US goods and investment.
Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.
Source: Council on Foreign Relations on 2020 presidential primary
Elizabeth Warren on Jobs
: Jul 30, 2019
New jobs part of fighting climate change; it's all connected
I put a real policy on the table to create 1.2 million new jobs in green manufacturing. There's going to be a $23 trillion worldwide market for this. This could revitalize huge cities across this country. What you want to do instead is
find the Republican talking point and say, "Oh, we don't really have to do anything." That's the problem we've got in Washington. It works great for oil companies, just not for people worried about climate change.
Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (first night in Detroit)
Bernie Sanders on Jobs
: Jul 30, 2019
Ain't nobody in Congress more pro-worker than I am
Gov. Steve Bullock: All of us agree that we have address climate change. The Republicans won't even acknowledge that climate change is real, and that's because of the corrupting influence and money. As we transition to this clean energy economy, there
are folks that have spent their whole life powering our country, and far too often, Democrats sound like they're part of the problem.SANDERS: Look, Steve, there ain't nobody in the Congress who's more strongly pro-worker than I am.
So when I talk about taking on the fossil fuel industry, what I am also talking about is a just transition. We can create what the Green New Deal is about. We can create millions of good-paying jobs. We can rebuild communities in rural
America that have been devastated. So we are not anti-worker. We are going to provide and make sure that those workers have a transition, new jobs, healthcare and education.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (first night in Detroit)
John Hickenlooper on Environment
: Jul 17, 2019
Support nuclear power
John Hickenlooper on Nuclear Power: Support nuclear power.FIVE CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Cory Booker; Peter Buttigieg; John Delaney; John Hickenlooper; Amy Klobuchar; Andrew Yang.
Many environmentalists and scientists believe it will be
impossible to decarbonize the power sector and fight climate change without maintaining nuclear power, because it offers more capacity than renewables and is more reliable to dispatch since it does not rely on the wind or sunshine.
Click for John Hickenlooper on other issues.
Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
Pete Buttigieg on Environment
: Jul 17, 2019
Support nuclear power
Peter Buttigieg on Nuclear Power: Support nuclear power.FIVE CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Cory Booker; Peter Buttigieg; John Delaney; John Hickenlooper; Amy Klobuchar; Andrew Yang.
Many environmentalists and scientists believe it will be
impossible to decarbonize the power sector and fight climate change without maintaining nuclear power, because it offers more capacity than renewables and is more reliable to dispatch since it does not rely on the wind or sunshine.
Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.
Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
Jay Inslee on Environment
: Jul 17, 2019
Develop new nuclear technologies
Jay Inslee on Nuclear Power: Support developing new nuclear technologies as part of an effort to fight climate change.TWO CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Joseph Biden, Jr.; Kamala Harris.
Utilities and scientists are developing nuclear power
reactors that are much smaller than the massive facilities that have been used in past decades. The new reactors, called Small Modular Reactors that the Energy Department's national labs are helping to develop, would produce perhaps 50 to 100 megawatts.
Click for Jay Inslee on other issues.
Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
John Delaney on Environment
: Jul 17, 2019
Support nuclear power
John Delaney on Nuclear Power: Support nuclear power.FIVE CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Cory Booker; Peter Buttigieg; John Hickenlooper; Amy Klobuchar; Andrew Yang.
Many environmentalists and scientists believe it will be
impossible to decarbonize the power sector and fight climate change without maintaining nuclear power, because it offers more capacity than renewables and is more reliable to dispatch since it does not rely on the wind or sunshine.
Click for John Delaney on other issues.
Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
Kamala Harris on Environment
: Jul 17, 2019
Develop new nuclear technologies
Kamala Harris on Nuclear Power: Support developing new nuclear technologies as part of an effort to fight climate change.TWO CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Joseph Biden, Jr.; Jay Inslee.
Utilities and scientists are developing nuclear power
reactors that are much smaller than the massive facilities that have been used in past decades. The new reactors, called Small Modular Reactors that the Energy Department's national labs are helping to develop, would produce perhaps 50 to 100 megawatts.
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
Amy Klobuchar on Environment
: Jul 17, 2019
Support nuclear power
Amy Klobuchar on Nuclear Power: Support nuclear power.FIVE CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Cory Booker; Peter Buttigieg; John Delaney; John Hickenlooper; Andrew Yang.
Many environmentalists and scientists believe it will be
impossible to decarbonize the power sector and fight climate change without maintaining nuclear power, because it offers more capacity than renewables and is more reliable to dispatch since it does not rely on the wind or sunshine.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
Joe Biden on Environment
: Jul 17, 2019
Develop new nuclear technologies
Biden on Nuclear Power: Support developing new nuclear technologies as part of an effort to fight climate change.TWO CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Kamala Harris; Jay Inslee.
Utilities and scientists are developing nuclear power
reactors that are much smaller than the massive facilities that have been used in past decades. The new reactors, called Small Modular Reactors that the Energy Department's national labs are helping to develop, would produce perhaps 50 to 100 megawatts.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
Tom Steyer on Energy & Oil
: Jul 14, 2019
When I realized the threat of fossil fuels, I divested
Billionaire activist and 2020 presidential candidate Tom Steyer on Sunday defended his past investments in fossil fuels. Steyer was asked on ABC's "This Week" about the investments his hedge fund had made in fossil fuels, though he has more recently
spent millions of dollars to fight climate change. "In our business, we invested in every part of the economy, including fossil fuels," he said. "When I realized what a threat this was, I changed. I divested from all that stuff."
Click for Tom Steyer on other issues.
Source: The Hill magazine on 2020 Democratic primary
Tom Steyer on Energy & Oil
: Jul 10, 2019
AdWatch: I left my business to combat climate change
[The Steyer campaign's first] pair of ads are backed up by $1.4 million dollars in spending. They will run nationally on CNN and MSNBC and locally in the four early states--Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada--for two weeks, from
July 10 to July 23."I left my business to combat climate change, fix our democracy, and hold President Trump accountable,"
Steyer said in one of his new ads. "Last year, we ran the largest youth voter registration in history, helping double turnout and win back the House."
The $1.4 million buy represents a small chunk of what
Steyer has committed to spending on his presidential bid. A Steyer spokesperson said that the billionaire former hedge fund manager will spend "at least $100 million" on the race.
Click for Tom Steyer on other issues.
Source: Politico.com AdWatch: 2020 Democratic primary
Joe Sestak on Energy & Oil
: Jul 9, 2019
Rejoin Paris Accord, ban offshore drilling
As president, Sestak will rejoin the Paris Accord, stop subsidies to the fossil fuel industry, fine carbon polluters with proceeds going to research renewable energy sources and strategies, ban offshore drilling, and give the
EPA "full authority to regulate substances (like HFCs) that contribute to global warming."
Click for Joe Sestak on other issues.
Source: Townhall.com on 2020 Democratic primary
Joe Sestak on Energy & Oil
: Jul 9, 2019
Rejoin Paris Accord, stop subsidies to fossil fuel industry
As president, Sestak will rejoin the Paris Accord, stop subsidies to the fossil fuel industry, fine carbon polluters with proceeds going to research renewable energy sources and strategies, ban offshore drilling, and give the
EPA "full authority to regulate substances (like HFCs) that contribute to global warming."
Click for Joe Sestak on other issues.
Source: Townhall.com, 2019 interview series
Tom Steyer on Environment
: Jul 4, 2019
Stand up to corporate polluters who poison our air & water
We all need clean air to breathe, a fair and prosperous economy, and a safe and secure nation. But climate change and the pollution that causes it threaten all of that and more, putting the health and well-being of all
Americans at risk--and hitting hardest those who can least afford it, exacerbating racial, gender, and class inequality.
We're standing up to corporate polluters who put their profits before people, poison our air and water, and hold our economy back.
Transitioning to clean energy will prevent damage to our climate, ensure our kids have clean air and water, and create millions of good-paying jobs.
Click for Tom Steyer on other issues.
Source: 2020 presidential campaign website, NextGenAmerica.org
Joe Sestak on Energy & Oil
: Jul 2, 2019
Global warming is a grave threat to humanity and the planet
We can either continue with the head-in-the-sand policies of the current administration, or we can listen to the scientists whose well-studied facts and figures consistently show that global warming is an unambiguously grave threat to humanity
and all life on earth. According to our own Defense Department: "Climate change will affect Department of Defense's ability to defend the Nation and poses immediate risk to U.S. national security."
Click for Joe Sestak on other issues.
Source: 2020 Presidential campaign website JoeSestak.com
Tom Steyer on Energy & Oil
: Jul 2, 2019
Cut greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020
Report on Tom Steyer's stance and spending on ballot initiatives: - California Proposition 23, the Suspension of AB 32 (2010)
- Steyer Opposed; Steyer spent $5.49 million; outcome: Defeated
- Proposition 23, which would have
suspended AB 32, the "Global Warming Act of 2006," was on the November 2, 2010 ballot in California as an initiated state statute, where it was defeated.
- AB 32 was passed by the California State Legislature and signed by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
-
AB 32 required that greenhouse gas emission levels in the state be cut to 1990 levels by 2020.
- In their campaigns for and against Proposition 23, supporters and opponents each adopted nicknames for the measure clarifying their respective views of it.
Supporters called Proposition 23 the California Jobs Initiative, and opponents called it the Dirty Energy Proposition. Supporters of the measure filed a lawsuit that resulted in a change to the measure's title and summary.
Click for Tom Steyer on other issues.
Source: Ballotpedia.org on California ballot measure voting records
Bernie Sanders on Energy & Oil
: Jun 27, 2019
Scientists say "12 years before damage is irreversible"
Scientists tell us we have 12 years before there is irreparable damage to this planet. This is a global issue. What the president should do is not deny the reality of climate change but tell the rest of the world that, instead of spending a trillion
and a half dollars on weapons of destruction, let us get together for the common enemy, and transform the world's energy system away from fossil fuel to energy efficiency and sustainable energy. The future of the planet rests on us doing that.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: June Democratic Primary debate (second night in Miami)
Kamala Harris on Energy & Oil
: Jun 27, 2019
Climate crisis represents existential threat to our species
I don't call it climate change. It's a climate crisis. It represents an existential threat to us as a species. And the fact that we have a president who has embraced science fiction over science fact will be to our collective peril.
We must confront what is immediate and before us right now. That is why I support a Green New Deal. It is why I will re-enter us in the Paris Agreement, because we have to take these issues seriously.
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: June Democratic Primary debate (second night in Miami)
John Hickenlooper on Environment
: Jun 27, 2019
Toughest methane regulations in the country
I'm a small-business owner who brought that same scrappy spirit to big Colorado, one of the most progressive states in America. We attacked climate change with the toughest methane regulations in the country. You don't need big government to do big
things. I know that because I'm the one person up here who's actually done the big progressive things everyone else is talking about. If we turn towards socialism, we run the risk of helping to re-elect the worst president in American history.
Click for John Hickenlooper on other issues.
Source: June Democratic Primary debate (second night in Miami)
Jay Inslee on Energy & Oil
: Jun 26, 2019
We're the first generation to feel sting of climate change
We are the first generation to feel the sting of climate change, and we are the last that can do something it. Our towns are burning. Our fields are flooding. This is a crisis. We need to do what I've done in my state. My plan has been called the gold
standard of putting people to work. I am the only one who's saying this has to be the top priority of the United States, so that we can do what we've always done, lead the world and invent the future and put 8 million people to work.
Click for Jay Inslee on other issues.
Source: June Democratic Primary debate (first night in Miami)
Joe Sestak on Energy & Oil
: Jun 23, 2019
Replace fossil fuel subsidies with fees for carbon polluters
Climate change and environmental collapse are twin problems that threaten the very existence of life as we know it on this planet. Solving them presents our generation with the greatest challenge in human history--and it is imperative that we rise to
meet this challenge. The stakes are just too high if we fail. Priorities:- Re-join the Paris Accord and restoring our leadership role among the community of nations working together to fight climate change.
-
Stop subsidizing fossil fuel industries.
- Implement a fee for carbon polluters, with proceeds being returned to all Americans as a dividend and also devoted to research & development in renewable energy and other
climate-stabilizing strategies.
- Establish a permanent moratorium on all future offshore drilling and Arctic drilling, including in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge..
Click for Joe Sestak on other issues.
Source: 2020 presidential campaign website JoeSestak.com
Joe Sestak on Environment
: Jun 23, 2019
Ratify the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol
As President, I will make stopping climate change and preventing environmental collapse the key national priorities they need to be. We owe future generations of humanity nothing less. Priorities:- Ratify the Kigali Amendment to the
Montreal Protocol committing countries around the world to phasing out the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
- Give the EPA full authority to regulate substances (like HFCs) that contribute to global warming, as it has authority to regulate
ozone-depleting substances.
- Stop subsidizing destructive industrial farming practices, and dramatically increase support for carbon-sequestering regenerative agriculture.
- Restore the National Monuments and other public lands
opened to extractive industries by the current administration.
- Renew our commitment to fighting deforestation, habitat destruction, and illegal poaching of endangered species around the world..
Click for Joe Sestak on other issues.
Source: 2020 presidential campaign website JoeSestak.com
Joe Sestak on Technology
: Jun 23, 2019
Reprioritized defense funding toward cyberspace
Chosen to serve on two bi-partisan national security Select Congressional Committees, Sestak worked on refocusing our security force posture toward China, advocating a new emphasis on cyberspace warfare, and reprioritization of defense funding toward
such newly emerging warfare capability areas, with a reformed accountable defense procurement system. Joe also supported energy development legislation for renewables, with environmental safeguards and job creation, to address Climate Change.
Click for Joe Sestak on other issues.
Source: 2020 presidential campaign website JoeSestak.com
Steve Bullock on Energy & Oil
: Jun 18, 2019
President's role is to set direction on climate change
Q: Do you think it's possible for the next president to stop climate change?
A: "One president can't do it alone, but one president can set the direction for the country."
Click for Steve Bullock on other issues.
Source: 2019 "Meet the Candidates" (NY Times.com)
Seth Moulton on Energy & Oil
: Jun 18, 2019
Get started on stopping climate change
Q: Do you think it's possible for the next president to stop climate change?
A: "Is it possible to fix it in the term of one presidency? Probably not, but we can get started in the right direction."
Click for Seth Moulton on other issues.
Source: 2019 "Meet the Candidates" (NY Times.com)
Andrew Yang on Energy & Oil
: Jun 18, 2019
US only accounts for 15% of global emissions, but take steps
Q: Do you think it's possible for the next president to stop climate change?
A: "I don't believe that the president can put a halt to climate change, given that the United States only accounts for 15 percent of global emissions, but we can take dramatic steps to combat it."
Click for Andrew Yang on other issues.
Source: 2019 "Meet the Candidates" (NY Times.com)
Jay Inslee on Government Reform
: May 31, 2019
Filibuster is preventing climate change legislation
The sad fact is [that] at the moment... we're going to have to find a way to get this done without them, we still have not seen the spirit of Teddy Roosevelt. We're seeing the spirit of Mitch McConnell, who will kill any climate change bill in its
cradle if he has a chance. And that means we have to get rid of the filibuster, we have to prevent Mitch McConnell from stopping climate change and we have to let majority vote--one person one vote--be the Democratic rule in the U.S. Senate.
Click for Jay Inslee on other issues.
Source: NPR Morning Edition: Election 2020 Special Series
Howie Hawkins on Environment
: May 28, 2019
Convert corporate agribusiness to organic agriculture
The Green New Deal will convert corporate agribusiness to organic agriculture. Conversion to regenerative agriculture is needed to combat climate change by drawing atmospheric carbon into the biosphere and to end the pesticides and habitat destruction
of industrial farming that is a major cause of the mass extinctions of species now underway. We want to replace monocultural, chemicalized, and industrialized corporate agribusiness with family and cooperative organic farms.
Click for Howie Hawkins on other issues.
Source: Declaration of Candidacy for the Green Party Nomination
Howie Hawkins on Homeland Security
: May 28, 2019
Cut military budget 75%; withdraw from 800 foreign bases
We want to cut the military budget by 75%. The biggest security threat we face is climate change. A $250 billion military budget will still be the world's largest. It is far less costly in terms of personnel and weapons to defend a home territory than
to invade and occupy foreign territory. We are demanding that the US adopt a non-offensive defense posture, withdraw from over 800 foreign military bases, and be the world's humanitarian superpower instead of its global military empire.
Click for Howie Hawkins on other issues.
Source: Declaration of Candidacy for the Green Party Nomination
John Hickenlooper on Principles & Values
: May 27, 2019
Socialist policies will not appeal to Americans
I don't think we're going to address climate change by guaranteeing every American a federal job, which is what part of the Green New Deal was.
I don't think we're going to address the spiraling inflation in health care by forcibly telling 150 million people that we're going to take away their private insurance. These are what a lot of Americans look at as facets or aspects of socialism.
Click for John Hickenlooper on other issues.
Source: NPR Morning Edition, "Election 2020: Opening Arguments"
Steve Bullock on Energy & Oil
: May 15, 2019
Re-enter Paris climate agreement
Bullock has tried to balance the interests of Montana's coal industry with the need to address climate change. He criticized Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. Before the Trump administration
revoked the Clean Power Plan, Bullock led an effort to comply with the Obama administration initiative to reduce pollution from power plants, but shied away from giving his full-fledged support for the policy.
Click for Steve Bullock on other issues.
Source: PBS News Hour 2020, "Where the candidate stands on 9 issues"
Michael Bennet on Energy & Oil
: May 2, 2019
Climate change is major issue; but not Green New Deal
Bennet has been consistent on the issue of climate change, working toward a comprehensive approach to combat climate change.
He was not a co-sponsor of the Green New Deal, but he recommends investing in renewable energy.
Click for Michael Bennet on other issues.
Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"
Seth Moulton on Energy & Oil
: May 2, 2019
Green New Deal addresses climate change AND changed economy
We're facing two primary challenges in this country right now. The first is that our economy is changing faster than ever before, and Americans everywhere are being left behind. The second is climate change. That's why we need a Green New Deal:
because if we do it right, we can solve both problems at once.The Green New Deal needs to be built around green jobs and clean energy, decarbonization and breakthrough technologies, and access to green energy for the developing world--and
America should lead the way in winning this moral and economic opportunity. We can lead the world in green tech and green jobs, and we should set the standards for other countries to follow.
The New Deal paved the way for a strong economy and American leadership in the last century. Let's shape the Green New Deal to help America lead this one.
Click for Seth Moulton on other issues.
Source: 2020 Presidential Campaign website SethMoulton.com
Pete Buttigieg on Principles & Values
: May 2, 2019
Ensure that America's future is better than its past
Pete belongs to the generation that came of age with school shootings, the generation that provided the majority of the troops in the conflicts after 9/11, the generation that is on the business end of climate change, and the generation that--
unless we take action--stands to be the first to be worse off economically than their parents.Pete is laying out a vision, values, and policies to ensure that America's future is better than its past. We need to secure a future in which every
American has the freedom to live a life of their choosing; where our republic grows more and not less democratic; where racial justice is a reality and not a dream; where we've put an end to endless war;
where we've summoned the national will to meet the challenge of climate change; where everyone has the health care they need; and where everyone has the chance to find purpose and belonging in our economy and our country.
Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.
Source: 2020 Presidential Campaign website PeteForAmerica.com
Beto O`Rourke on Energy & Oil
: Apr 29, 2019
Net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, but allow drilling
He proposed an aggressive, detailed $5 trillion plan to address climate change, calling it the "greatest threat we face."
It aims for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. O'Rourke has opposed legislation that would prevent drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
Click for Beto O`Rourke on other issues.
Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"
Seth Moulton on Energy & Oil
: Apr 23, 2019
Member of the Climate Solutions Caucus in Congress
"Climate change is real," he says on his congressional website. He is a member of the Climate Solutions Caucus. He hopes the U.S. can one day move toward energy independence. He supported President Obama's Clean
Climate Agenda and opposes President Trump's executive order on the environment, which he says shows "a complete disregard for facts and science."
Click for Seth Moulton on other issues.
Source: CNN Town Hall with 2020 presidential hopefuls
Bill de Blasio on Energy & Oil
: Apr 22, 2019
40% reduction in emissions by 2030
The policies laid out in "OneNYC 2050: Building a Strong and Fair City," will achieve a 40% reduction in emissions from a 2005 baseline by 2030--the breaking point to turn back the most irreversible consequences of climate change. The announcements
today will reduce our emissions by the following percentages from a 2005 baseline:- 10%: Mandating that all large, existing buildings implement retrofits to be more efficient and lower emissions--a global first.
- 6%: OneNYC initiatives to
further reduce emissions including more renewable energy, expanded energy efficiency in buildings & reduced reliance on fossil fuel vehicles.
- 5%: Pursuing a deal to power 100% of City operations with clean electricity sources like Canadian hydropower.
- 2%: Cleaning up vehicle fleet and implementing congestion pricing.
The above actions will account for a 23% reduction in emissions. Previous actions taken by the de Blasio administration have already resulted in a 5% reduction, totaling 28%.
Click for Bill de Blasio on other issues.
Source: Mayoral press release, "Green New Deal," NYC.gov
Amy Klobuchar on Energy & Oil
: Apr 22, 2019
Would rejoin climate pact & propose new legislation
Climate change isn't happening 100 years from now. It's happening right now, and that's why as your president on day one I would get us back into the international climate change agreement. That's day 1. On day 2 and day 3, I would bring back the clean
power rules that the Obama administration worked out that will make a big dent in this. I will bring back the gas mileage standards that they just left. I would propose sweeping legislations for green buildings and new ideas and we need to do this.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: CNN Town Hall 2020: 5 candidates back-to-back
Wayne Messam on Education
: Apr 18, 2019
I built the greenest school in the Southeast US
Q: Would you restore Obama-era climate change regulations that the Trump administration has reversed, like the Clean Power Plan, methane limits and vehicle emissions standards?Messam: I started a climate-conscious construction business that built
the greenest school in the Southeast United States. I know firsthand that we can create and protect jobs while also protecting our environment. The Obama administration understood the urgency to address this crisis for the future.
My administration will make climate change a priority and not only restore Obama-era environmental policies like the Clean Power Plan, but work to take aggressive action that rivals the New Deal in scope. It seems that the
Trump administration's environmental policies are for industry lobbyists and special interests instead of tackling the hard choices we need to make now to protect the environment for future generations.
Click for Wayne Messam on other issues.
Source: 2019 "Meet the Candidates" (NY Times.com)
Amy Klobuchar on Energy & Oil
: Apr 18, 2019
Open to carbon tax, but without increased prices
Q: As president, would you keep the U.S. in the Paris Agreement and commit to more ambitious targets in 2020?Her campaign didn't answer this question, but Ms. Klobuchar said at a CNN town hall-style event: "I will, as first day as the president,
sign us back into the international climate change agreement. That is on Day 1."
Q: Do you support a federal carbon tax? If so, at what price per ton, and how do you envision the proceeds being used?
Ms. Klobuchar's campaign said she was open to a
carbon tax but would not support one that increased prices for lower- and middle-income Americans. It did not provide an on-the-record quote.
Q: Would you restore Obama-era climate change regulations that the Trump administration has reversed, like
the Clean Power Plan, methane limits and vehicle emissions standards?
Ms. Klobuchar's campaign confirmed that she would restore the Clean Power Plan and gas mileage standards, but did not provide an on-the-record quote.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: 2019 "Meet the Candidates" (NY Times.com)
Elizabeth Warren on Energy & Oil
: Apr 18, 2019
Return to Paris climate accord, & build on it
Q: As president, would you keep the U.S. in the Paris Agreement and commit to more ambitious targets in 2020?Warren: "I believe we need to return to the Paris climate accord, and then we need to build on it. We need to do far more to reduce global
emissions, but we can only do that when we're leading from the front."
Q: Would you restore Obama-era climate change regulations that the Trump administration has reversed, like the Clean Power Plan, methane limits and vehicle emissions standards?
Warren: "I have strongly opposed the Trump administration's efforts to roll back the Clean Power Plan and other Obama-era methane limits and vehicle emission standards. As president, I would reverse these rollbacks."
Q: Do you support a national
renewable energy standard?
Warren: "I am an original cosponsor of the Green New Deal resolution, which commits the United States to meet 100 percent of our power demand through clean, renewable and zero-emission energy sources."
Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.
Source: 2019 "Meet the Candidates" (NY Times.com)
Cory Booker on Energy & Oil
: Apr 18, 2019
Rejoin Paris Climate Agreement, plus domestic legislation
Q: Would you keep the US in the Paris Agreement?Booker: "As president, I will immediately move to rejoin the Paris Agreement and to increase our emission reduction targets to align with the scientific consensus for the necessary speed and scale
at which we must decarbonize in order to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees."
Q: Would you restore Obama-era climate change regulations that the Trump administration has reversed?
Booker: "The Trump EPA is taking actions to gut the Clean Power
Plan, to weaken methane limits and to reverse vehicle emissions standards. All of these actions will make climate change worse. As president, I will restore these policies as part of a comprehensive approach to address climate change."
Q: Do you
support new regulations to cut greenhouse gas emissions?
Booker: "I will both work with Congress to pass comprehensive climate legislation and, when appropriate, use executive powers to address the existential threat posed by global warming."
Click for Cory Booker on other issues.
Source: 2019 "Meet the Candidates" (NY Times.com)
Jay Inslee on Energy & Oil
: Apr 18, 2019
Rejoin Paris Climate Agreement on Day 1
Q: As president, would you keep the U.S. in the Paris Agreement and commit to more ambitious targets in 2020?Inslee: Yes. President Trump's attempt to leave the Paris Agreement was one of the most shameful decisions of a shameful presidency.
America can and should be a leader in the global fight against climate change. As president, I will recommit to the Paris accord and work on Day 1 to undo Donald Trump's attacks on international climate progress.
We are ready: I am proud to say that within hours of Trump's announcement that he intended to pull the U.S. out of the agreement, I co-founded the U.S. Climate Alliance--a bipartisan coalition of states that are committed to upholding
America's contributions to that pact. This alliance now consists of 22 states and Puerto Rico that together comprise over half of America's population and its economy.
Click for Jay Inslee on other issues.
Source: 2019 "Meet the Candidates" (NY Times.com)
Wayne Messam on Energy & Oil
: Apr 18, 2019
Climate change is not a hoax; we need bold action
Q: As president, would you keep the U.S. in the Paris Agreement and commit to more ambitious targets in 2020?Messam: Yes. Climate change is not a hoax. It affects the quality of the air we breathe and the water we drink.
As president, my administration will make it a priority to lead the world and take bold, direct climate action that will rival the
New Deal in scope, rise to the scale of this challenge, and apply the urgency required to get the job done in 10 years. We need bold ideas that will meet the scale of the climate change crisis.
Q: Do you support a federal carbon tax?
Messam: All options will remain on the table to take action on climate change. I will use the bully pulpit and the veto pen to ensure we do not force our children to live under extreme conditions.
Click for Wayne Messam on other issues.
Source: 2019 "Meet the Candidates" (NY Times.com)
Bernie Sanders on Energy & Oil
: Apr 18, 2019
Keep US in Paris Climate Agreement & increase targets
Q: As president, would you keep the U.S. in the Paris Agreement and commit to more ambitious targets in 2020?A: Sanders's campaign confirmed that he would keep the United States in the Paris Agreement and increase emission reduction targets, but did
not provide an on-the-record quote.
Q: Would you restore Obama-era climate change regulations that the Trump administration has reversed, like the Clean Power Plan, methane limits and vehicle emissions standards?
A: Sanders's campaign said he would
restore Obama-era regulations.
Q: Do you support new regulations to cut greenhouse gas emissions beyond what was in place under President Obama?
A: Sanders's campaign said he would go beyond Obama-era regulations, but did not elaborate or provide
an on-the-record quote.
Q: Do you support a national renewable energy standard? If so, what would it be? If not, why not?
A: Sanders's campaign reiterated his support for the Green New Deal, which calls for 100 percent renewable energy.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: 2019 "Meet the Candidates" (NY Times.com)
Kamala Harris on Energy & Oil
: Apr 18, 2019
Restore Clean Power Plan and Clean Car Standards
Q: As president, would you keep the U.S. in the Paris Agreement and commit to more ambitious targets in 2020?A: Yes, she wants to return the U.S. to the Paris deal.
Q: Would you restore Obama-era climate change regulations that the Trump
administration has reversed, like the Clean Power Plan?
A: Harris's campaign said she wanted to "restore the Clean Power Plan and fully implement the Clean Car Standards."
Q: Do you support a national renewable energy standard?
A: She is for a national goal for renewable energy.
Q: Do you support increasing federal funding for clean-energy research?
A: Harris's campaign said that as president, she would "invest in clean energy research and infrastructure."
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: 2019 "Meet the Candidates" (NY Times.com)
Tulsi Gabbard on Energy & Oil
: Apr 18, 2019
2017: Short-sighted to withdraw from Paris Climate Accord
Q: As president, would you keep the US in the Paris Agreement?Ms. Gabbard's campaign responded with a 2017 statement: "President Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, making us just one of three countries in the world not to
participate, is short-sighted and irresponsible. Without global action to drastically curb carbon pollution, climate change threatens the safety and security of the planet, especially in places like Hawaii where we are already experiencing its
devastating effects. The US should be leading by example, leveraging innovation through science and technology, investing in clean energy, creating renewable energy jobs that cannot be outsourced, growing the economy, enhancing U.S. energy independence,
and lowering energy costs for families and businesses, while reducing carbon emissions. We must continue to persevere and do our part to support efforts in the private sector and at all levels of government to combat climate change."
Click for Tulsi Gabbard on other issues.
Source: 2019 "Meet the Candidates" (NY Times.com)
Andrew Yang on Energy & Oil
: Apr 18, 2019
Rejoin rest of world in Paris Climate Agreement
Q: Would you keep the US in the Paris Agreement and commit to more ambitious targets in 2020?Yang: "Absolutely. America needs to rejoin the rest of the world in formally recognizing the threat posed by climate change and work with all nations to
combat this existential crisis. The Paris Agreement doesn't go far enough to mitigate climate change, and the U.S. should be a part of the conversation on what targets are necessary and how we can get to them. Only through something like the Paris
Agreement can we effectively tackle this problem. The US accounts for only about 15% of global emissions, so any solution requires other countries to make similar changes. We also need to recognize that our targets probably aren't enough to prevent some
of the worst effects of climate change. We need to heavily fund research into geoengineering projects such as carbon capture in order to undo some of the damage we've already done. The U.S. should be a leader in developing this technology."
Click for Andrew Yang on other issues.
Source: 2019 "Meet the Candidates" (NY Times.com)
John Delaney on Environment
: Apr 18, 2019
Supports vehicle emissions standards and methane limits
Q: Would you restore Obama-era climate change regulations that the Trump administration has reversed, like the Clean Power Plan, methane limits and vehicle emissions standards?John Delaney: "I support vehicle emissions
standards and methane limits and other measures as a backstop. Over all, the most important thing we need to do is implement a carbon tax. Based on economic/climate modeling, a carbon tax would be more effective at reducing
greenhouse gas emissions than regulations. This would harness the power of the free market but have regulations as a backstop."
Q:
Do you support new regulations to cut greenhouse gas emissions beyond what was in place under President Obama?
John Delaney: "I would implement a carbon tax and primarily use market forces, rather than regulations, as the way to change behavior."
Click for John Delaney on other issues.
Source: 2019 "Meet the Candidates" (NY Times.com)
Kirsten Gillibrand on Environment
: Apr 18, 2019
Clean air is a right
Q: Would you restore Obama-era climate change regulations that the Trump administration has reversed, like the Clean Power Plan, methane limits and vehicle emissions standards?A: She believes that clean air is a right, and would reverse the
Trump administration's rollback of the Obama administration's clean air regulations.
Q: Do you support a national renewable energy standard?
A: She supports a national renewable energy standard to achieve net-zero carbon emissions.
Click for Kirsten Gillibrand on other issues.
Source: 2019 "Meet the Candidates" (NY Times.com)
Wayne Messam on Environment
: Apr 18, 2019
Nuclear energy falls short; no new nuke plants
Q: Do you think nuclear energy should be part of the U.S.'s decarbonizing toolbox?Messam: As president, I will work to make the United States a global leader in renewable energy. While nuclear energy may seem like an option, in many ways it
falls short of the type of energy we need to truly address climate change. I would not support the construction of new nuclear plants and would rally the American people to invest in truly renewable [energy]."
Click for Wayne Messam on other issues.
Source: 2019 "Meet the Candidates" (NY Times.com)
Tulsi Gabbard on Free Trade
: Apr 18, 2019
Ban oil & gas exports; end fossil-fuel subsidies
Q: Do you support new regulations to cut greenhouse gas emissions beyond what was in place under President Obama?Gabbard: I have long been an advocate of aggressive climate change legislation to curb greenhouse gas emissions, including:
-
Renewable energy mandate, zero-emission vehicle mandate, electrification of transit, electric vehicle rebate program for consumers.
- Moratorium on new major fossil-fuel projects, banning fracking, ending fossil-fuel subsidies, low-income
weatherization and retrofit assistance.
- Extension of tax credits for wind and solar energy.
- Ban on crude oil and LNG [liquefied natural gas] exports.
- Environmental justice provisions for a clean energy future.
-
Identify the employment potential of the energy efficiency and renewable energy industry and the skills and training needed for workers in those fields to support career transition period.
Click for Tulsi Gabbard on other issues.
Source: 2019 "Meet the Candidates" (NY Times.com)
John Hickenlooper on Technology
: Apr 18, 2019
Public-private partnerships for next-gen energy technology
Q: As president, would you keep the U.S. in the Paris Agreement and commit to more ambitious targets in 2020?Hickenlooper: Yes.
Q: Would you restore Obama-era climate change regulations that the Trump administration has reversed, like the Clean
Power Plan, methane limits and vehicle emissions standards?
Hickenlooper: Yes.
Q: Do you support new regulations to cut greenhouse gas emissions beyond what was in place under President Obama?
Hickenlooper: Yes.
Q: Do you support a national renewable energy standard? If so, what would it be? If not, why not?
Hickenlooper: Yes.
Q: Do you support increasing federal funding for clean-energy research? If so, how much money?
Are there specific areas of research you're most interested in funding, and why?
Hickenlooper: Yes. Next-generation clean energy technologies; public-private partnerships.
Click for John Hickenlooper on other issues.
Source: 2019 "Meet the Candidates" (NY Times.com)
Jay Inslee on Technology
: Apr 18, 2019
Dramatically increase federal clean energy R&D investment
Q: Do you support increasing federal funding for clean-energy research?Inslee: Yes, we must dramatically increase federal investment for research and development into clean energy technologies and climate solutions. Fortunately, today we already have
so many of the technologies we need to defeat climate change--we simply have to put them to work.
The federal government has a critical role in play in catalyzing new clean-tech innovations, and in helping bring them to market.
Increased federal R&D investment must be part of a successful climate agenda--and it must be focused on a range of technologies, from next-generation renewables and energy storage, to the capture and removal from the air of greenhouse gas pollution.
This unprecedented public investment we will make will unleash even greater private sector investment, giving the right price signals to entrepreneurs and small businesses to succeed in this new clean energy economy.
Click for Jay Inslee on other issues.
Source: 2019 "Meet the Candidates" (NY Times.com)
Julian Castro on Welfare & Poverty
: Apr 18, 2019
Lower energy consumption in HUD-assisted housing
Q: Do you support new regulations to cut greenhouse gas emissions beyond what was in place under President Obama?Castro: Addressing the existential crisis of climate change requires bold and aggressive action. President Obama put forward important
policies that were a major step forward for our country and the world. For example, at HUD [which Mr. Castro used to lead], we worked on efforts to lower energy consumption and increase renewable energy usage in HUD assisted housing.
But we cannot afford to stop there. We need renewable energy and performance standards, resilient infrastructure with stricter codes for sustainability, and we need incentives for research and investment in cutting-edge technologies.
Q: Do you support
a national renewable energy standard? If so, what would it be? If not, why not?
Castro: Yes. Lowering carbon emissions will require a national renewable energy standard that gradually increases until we achieve our emissions target by 2050.
Click for Julian Castro on other issues.
Source: 2019 "Meet the Candidates" (NY Times.com)
Tim Ryan on Energy & Oil
: Apr 14, 2019
Green New Deal means manufacturing jobs
I support a Green New Deal. We've got to reverse what's happening with our climate, and that could mean jobs in places like Youngstown, Ohio, and the industrial Midwest because there's so much that needs to be manufactured.
An agenda that can both reverse global warming and climate change and create manufacturing jobs is something I'm going to support.
Click for Tim Ryan on other issues.
Source: ABC This Week 2019 interview of presidential hopefuls
Marianne Williamson on Energy & Oil
: Apr 14, 2019
Climate change biggest crisis of our time
On climate change: It is the greatest moral challenge of our age. We need carbon sequestration. We need the reforestation. We need to develop sustainable energy systems. We need new modes of electric transportation, et cetera.
Enough with these incremental changes here and these incremental changes there. The climate is a crisis. We have 12 years to deal with it.
Click for Marianne Williamson on other issues.
Source: CNN Town Hall 2020 Democratic primary
Bernie Sanders on Corporations
: Apr 12, 2019
Break up big agriculture corporations
Sanders rolled out a proposal to help revitalize rural farming communities and break up big agriculture corporations.
The comprehensive plan would enact "Roosevelt style trust-busting laws," address climate change and propose job training and education for farmers.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"
Bernie Sanders on Energy & Oil
: Apr 12, 2019
Co-sponsor of Green New Deal
Green New Deal:
Sanders is a co-sponsor of the bill and has spoken consistently about the severity of climate change.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"
Jay Inslee on Energy & Oil
: Apr 10, 2019
Research nuclear energy; many problems unsolved
On the Green New Deal: Number one, it's got people talking about climate change. Number two, it has also raised people's ambition as to the scope of the challenge.I believe that the urgency is so great and the time period so short to decarbonize our
economy that we need to be open to any low-cost or low-carbon or zero-carbon technology. That includes nuclear. But there would have to be four things happen before nuclear power would be able to become a major part of our portfolio.
It would have to become cost-effective, which it is not. It would have to be much safer with passive safety systems, which have not yet been developed.
It would have to solve the waste problem with the waste stream. And it would have to win public acceptance. My view is it is appropriate to make R&D investments to determine whether any of those or all of those can be surmounted.
Click for Jay Inslee on other issues.
Source: CNN Town Hall: 2020 presidential hopefuls
Wayne Messam on Energy & Oil
: Apr 9, 2019
Address climate change to create jobs & keep us competitive
"This administration's own report stated that if we don't take immediate action on climate change, in 10 years we could have irreversible damage to the air we breathe and the water that we drink. Yet this administration is not even following its own
report. America needs to be a leader in terms of being good stewards to our environment. It'll put Americans to work. It will improve the quality of life for Americans and make our communities safer and keep us more competitive as a nation."
Click for Wayne Messam on other issues.
Source: WBUR FM (Boston) on 2020 Democratic primary
Marianne Williamson on Energy & Oil
: Apr 8, 2019
Supports Green New Deal and green jobs program
Under a Williamson administration, we will take a full systems approach. A Green New Deal would provide an overall strategy for how clean energy, sustainable infrastructure and transportation, and a national green jobs program can revitalize our economy
and utilize our innovative and human capacity to benefit all our people. While it doesn't cover the whole range of measures we must undertake to reverse global warming, it is an important step, therefore I support it.
Click for Marianne Williamson on other issues.
Source: 2020 presidential campaign website Marianne2020.com
Wayne Messam on Environment
: Mar 28, 2019
Supports fighting climate change
Messam stated in his campaign video that he supports taking actions to reverse the effects of climate change. "When our scientists are telling us if we don't make drastic changes today, the quality of our air will be in peril,
Washington is broken," he said.
Click for Wayne Messam on other issues.
Source: Townhall.com on 2020 presidential hopefuls
John Hickenlooper on Energy & Oil
: Mar 26, 2019
Denounced Green New Deal, supports fighting climate change
Green New Deal: Wrote an op-ed in March denouncing the proposal, arguing that while he supports the "concept" of sweeping resolution to fight climate change, the Green New Deal "sets unachievable goals" and would inflate the government.
Click for John Hickenlooper on other issues.
Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"
John Hickenlooper on Energy & Oil
: Mar 20, 2019
Work with environmentalists & industry to get to solutions
Climate change is an issue that's going to disproportionately affect low-income people and people of color. We got the oil and gas industry to sit down with the environmental community for 14 months and we created the first methane
regulations in the country that the oil and gas industry paid $60 million per year. It's the equivalent of taking 320,000 cars a year off the road. We announced that we were going to close two coal plants and replace it with wind, solar, and batteries.
Click for John Hickenlooper on other issues.
Source: CNN Town Hall: 2020 presidential hopefuls
Elizabeth Warren on Energy & Oil
: Mar 18, 2019
America must lead in combatting climate change
I want to say something that is very controversial. In Washington, this is a very controversial statement: I believe in science. Climate change is real, it is manmade, and we are running out of runway to be able to fix this problem.
We need to be thinking about hardening our infrastructure against the climate change that's coming our way and in terms of building green energy infrastructure.
We've got to be working in every single direction. More money on research. More money on how we get our vehicles so that we get to a place where we have a sustainable Earth. The United States is a world leader.
The problem is we are leading in the wrong direction right now on climate. We've got to go the other way. We've got to show the world what can be done.
Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.
Source: CNN Town Hall on 2020 Democratic presidential primary
Beto O`Rourke on Energy & Oil
: Mar 14, 2019
Return to Paris climate agreement
- O'Rourke would return the U.S. to the international Paris climate accord, under which the U.S. pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions 26 to 28 percent by the year 2025.
- In general, O'Rourke focuses on the
economic potential of renewable fuels and the economic hazards of not addressing climate change.
- It is unclear if he supports deeper carbon emissions cuts or a carbon tax.
- He would allow fracking, but with tighter oversight.
Click for Beto O`Rourke on other issues.
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Beto O`Rourke on Energy & Oil
: Mar 13, 2019
Keep planet from warming one-half degree Celsius
He would also make climate change a top priority. "Keeping the planet from warming one-half degree Celsius, for me, is the most important for humanity," he says. He supports Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Green New
Deal in spirit, if not every letter. "The goal of converting to 100 percent renewable energy within a decade, I love," he says. "It's ambitious. It captures your imagination."
Click for Beto O`Rourke on other issues.
Source: Joe Hagan in Vanity Fair on 2020 Democratic primary
Jay Inslee on Energy & Oil
: Mar 12, 2019
No "silver bullet" for climate: "silver buckshot" instead
The Washington governor has been focused laser-like on the issue of climate change. "We are the first generation to feel the sting of climate change," he said, "but we are the last generation that can do something about it." He noted that a recent
Iowa poll showed that the environment was the top issue for Democratic voters, tied with healthcare. With Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal helping to push the topic to centre stage, Mr Inslee could be in position to capitalise on the attention.
His big idea: Clearly environmental action is the central thrust of Mr Inslee's campaign, although he says he has no one preferred policy "silver bullet", but rather wants a multifaceted "silver buckshot" approach.
His biggest challenge:
If he succeeds in raising his visibility by pushing the environmental issue, his biggest challenge will be using that attention to sell Democratic voters on the rest of his progressive record in Washington.
Click for Jay Inslee on other issues.
Source: BBC.com on 2020 Democratic primary contenders at 2019 SXSW
Jay Inslee on Government Reform
: Mar 12, 2019
End the filibuster; it dooms good legislation
One big idea [that Gov. Jay Inslee] threw his weight behind [at the SXSW conference] in Austin was eliminating the legislative blocking tactic known as the filibuster in the US Senate: "Anyone who says they want to do anything of any significance in the
next several years has to be in favour of ending the filibuster or they're not serious," Mr Inslee told me. "So if you say you're serious about climate change, but you're not categorically against the filibuster, then you're dooming the US to failure."
Click for Jay Inslee on other issues.
Source: BBC.com on 2020 Democratic primary contenders at 2019 SXSW
John Delaney on Energy & Oil
: Mar 11, 2019
Bipartisan carbon tax bill, but not the Green New Deal
Delaney has not held back on the campaign trail when asked about the Green New Deal, the sweeping policy proposal to combat climate change that is supported by a host of liberal lawmakers. On Twitter, Delaney once said the plan was "as realistic as
Trump saying that Mexico is going to pay for the wall."At the South-by-Southwest conference, he defended that position. "It is a time for bold solutions. But we also have to put our shoulder behind things that can actually get done,"
he said. "Because climate is not like other issues. We have an infrastructure issue in this country. But if we wait five years to deal with our infrastructure, it's a missed opportunity.
But it doesn't get exponentially worse, so we have to deal with climate change right away."
Delaney said he would get a bipartisan carbon tax bill passed in his first year as president. "We have to have a goal around climate that's realistic," he said.
Click for John Delaney on other issues.
Source: CNN KFile on 2019 SXSW conference in Austin
John Delaney on Energy & Oil
: Mar 10, 2019
Proposed carbon tax, but also invest in new technology
Climate change is one of the great threats to the next generation of Americans. And we have to stop talking about it. We have to start doing things, which is one of the reasons I introduced the only bipartisan carbon tax bill in the Congress.
All the revenues get collected, get given back to the American people in the form of a dividend. I'm working on ideas to fund negative emissions technologies, which I think have to be incredibly important to how we get out of this climate dilemma.
These are machines that actually take carbon out of the atmosphere. The problem is they're really expensive. We need to create a market for them.
If we can do that, it can not only help get the United States to where I believe we need to be, which is net zero by 2050, but we can also have the technology that can save the world.
Click for John Delaney on other issues.
Source: CNN Town Hall on 2020 Democratic presidential primary
John Kasich on Principles & Values
: Mar 10, 2019
OpEd: Realism & anti-liberalism define #NeverTrump ideology
Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich [at SXSW in Texas, offered his own] flavor of Heartland hotdish. Kasich, who ran against Trump in 2016 and is possibly thinking of doing so again, knows he comes off as self-righteous and tried to mitigate it in his convo
with David Maraniss, but was still kinda annoying in his "blunt" "tell it like it is" realism and anti-liberalism (the core #NeverTrump ideology) mixed with teeth-grinding mawkishness. He does believe in climate change, though.
Click for John Kasich on other issues.
Source: Mike Clark-Madison, Texas Tribune on 2019 SXSW conference
Jay Inslee on Energy & Oil
: Mar 1, 2019
Fighting climate change crucial, and profitable
Inslee will be the only climate-change candidate when he announces his bid. "It's less of a concern," Inslee says of his singular focus on global warming, "than being totally ignored in a presidential race." This isn't just about saving the planet,
but about how much money can be made in moving toward clean energy. "Whatever the situation is now, it's going to be worse two years from now on the peril side, and it's going to be better on the promise side through clean-energy jobs."
Click for Jay Inslee on other issues.
Source: The Atlantic, "Risky Bet," on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Jay Inslee on Energy & Oil
: Mar 1, 2019
We are last generation that can do something about climate
Campaign announcement: "I'm running for president because I'm the only candidate who will make defeating climate change our nation's number one priority," Inslee declares in a video shared on social media. "We're the first generation to feel the
sting of climate change, and we're the last that can do something about it," he says in the video. "This crisis isn't just a chart or graph anymore. The impacts are being felt everywhere."
Click for Jay Inslee on other issues.
Source: Common Dreams e-zine on 2020 Democratic primary
Jay Inslee on Energy & Oil
: Mar 1, 2019
Fighting climate change must be top goal of next president
Ultimately, I believe there is one central, defining, existential-with-a-capital-E threat to the future of the nation: climate change. It is clear that it will only be defeated if the United States shows leadership. And that will only happen if the
US president makes it a clear priority--the number one, foremost, paramount goal of the next administration. And I believe I'm uniquely positioned, by willingness and history and vision, to be able to do that.[When Obama won in 2008], the
Democratic team said, "We're going to do health care first." And so climate didn't get done. Now, could it have gotten done if it was put first? There are no guarantees. But once health care went first, there wasn't enough juice to get climate through.
We simply cannot have that experience again. So [climate change] can't be on a laundry list. It can't be something that candidates check the box on. It has to be a full-blooded effort to mobilize the United States in all capacities.
Click for Jay Inslee on other issues.
Source: David Roberts, Vox.com, on 2020 Democratic primary
John Kasich on Energy & Oil
: Feb 26, 2019
I've evolved on climate change: stop denying it
Republicans should stop denying humans' impact on climate change and start putting forth policies to address it, Kasich says. "This is like a call to arms. Let's have conservatives have a discussion instead of being in denial that this is a problem.
You can't just be a science denier."Kasich himself has evolved from when he was running in the 2016 GOP presidential primary. He said then that the overall human impact on climate change is unclear and that "we don't want to destroy people's job,
based on some theory that is not proven."
When presented with those comments, Kasich responded: "Yeah, well you know what, we all evolve." He went on to cite a federal government report, issued under the
Trump administration, that laid out humans' impact on climate change and the impacts of it. "As I see more and more evidence, especially from our government and scientists, you learn more. Let's step it up."
Click for John Kasich on other issues.
Source: Axios.com on 2020 presidential hopefuls
John Kasich on Energy & Oil
: Feb 26, 2019
Centrist climate policy: price for carbon dioxide emissions
Kasich calls on conservatives to address global warming: "This is like a call to arms. Let's have conservatives have a discussion instead of being in denial that this is a problem," Kasich said. "You can't just be a science denier." Kasich plans to
introduce proposals for a "centrist" climate policy.Kasich opposes the "Green New Deal," a climate change policy backed by progressives, but said that it's "not enough" to oppose it without introducing a counterproposal.
His proposals include subsidies for electric vehicles and other eco-friendly technologies and a price for carbon dioxide emissions.
Kasich said that his views on humans' impact on the environment have "evolved" since the
2016 campaign, when he said: "We don't want to destroy people's job, based on some theory that is not proven." Kasich now says, "As I see more and more evidence, especially from our government and scientists, you learn more. Let's step it up."
Click for John Kasich on other issues.
Source: The Hill coverage of 2020 presidential hopefuls
Jay Inslee on Immigration
: Feb 24, 2019
Illegal immigration not a national emergency
We do not have a national security emergency. Donald Trump has a political emergency. He was unable to get Mexico to pay for his wall. He does not have the support of either party and the entire U.S. Congress on a bipartisan basis have told him his
wall is a colossal mistake. He ought to be responding to real emergencies like the forest fires. Climate change is burning down our forests. That's an emergency where we ought to have the help of the federal government. We don't have it.
Click for Jay Inslee on other issues.
Source: CBS Face the Nation 2019 interviews: 2020 Democratic primary
Howie Hawkins on Energy & Oil
: Feb 22, 2019
I'm the original Green New Dealer, since 2010
Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins wants to set the record straight. "A lot of people think Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez thought up the Green New Deal," he told me. "But I'm the original Green New Dealer."Hawkins says he was the first American political
candidate to run on the promise of a Green New Deal. During his run for NY governor in 2010, he proposed a plan to fight climate change "with the same urgency, speed, and commitment of resources that our country demonstrated in converting to war
production for the mobilization for World War II." To reduce carbon emissions to net zero over ten years, Hawkins's plan would "devote resources to and create jobs in renewable energy, public transit and organic agriculture." And those resources would
come from progressive tax reform.
Hawkins thinks the Green New Deal is being unfairly co-opted. But he's happy that it's become mainstream, because "it's our opportunity to explain how the Democratic establishment chopped away the pieces," he said.
Click for Howie Hawkins on other issues.
Source: The New Republic magazine on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Mike Bloomberg on Energy & Oil
: Feb 19, 2019
$218M effort led to closure of 282 coal-fired power plants
The network of Bloomberg Philanthropies recipients is vast, and it includes mayors throughout the country as well as grassroots climate-change, gun-control and education advocates.For instance, Bloomberg has contributed
$218 million for clean-energy efforts that, among other results, have led to the closure of 282 coal-fired power plants. But he does not oppose, at least in the short term, other fossil fuel use--and that's not good enough for climate change activists
Click for Mike Bloomberg on other issues.
Source: Politico.com on 2020 Democratic primary hopefuls
Joe Biden on Foreign Policy
: Feb 19, 2019
US can't do it alone: stay engaged in the world
Biden discussed how it's important to reassert the U.S.' commitment to the world. "Seventy percent of American people think we should stay engaged in the world," he said. "We're being told that somehow America wants to walk away, not from
our obligations but from our opportunities. Tell me, name me one consequential problem from global warming to the nuclear arms race that can be solved by us alone? Name me one."
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: The Daily Pennsylvanian on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Amy Klobuchar on Energy & Oil
: Feb 18, 2019
Green New Deal is aspirational; don't over-promise
Sen. Amy Klobuchar placed herself firmly in the center lane of the Democratic primary, calling popular progressive policy platforms "aspirational," and declining to fully commit to them. The Minnesota Democrat called the Green New Deal "aspirational" --
pitching herself as pragmatic Midwesterner who won't over-promise liberal policies to primary voters.On climate change, Klobuchar said she believes that "we can get close" to the Green New Deal, but that she doesn't "think we're going to get rid of
entire industries in the U.S."
"We need to get this debate going, and this is put out there as an aspiration in that something we need to move toward," she said. "Do I think we can cross every 'T' and dot every 'I' in 10 years? Actually,
I think that would be very difficult to do."
She also looked ahead to the potential legislation, acknowledging that "there are going to be compromises" and "it's not going to look exactly like that," she said.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: Politico.com on 2020 Democratic primary hopefuls
Pete Buttigieg on Energy & Oil
: Feb 15, 2019
Supports Paris climate accord and Green New Deal
Buttigieg considers climate changeÿa national security threat and a problem that will impact younger Americans and future generations. He supports every U.S. houseÿbecoming "net zero" consumer of energy, and is in favor of the government subsidizing
solar panels. Buttigieg was one of 407 U.S. mayors whoÿsigned a pactÿto adhere to the Paris climate accord after President Donald Trump pulled out of the international agreement 2017. He supports the "Green New Deal."
Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.
Source: PBS Newshour on 2020 Democratic primary
Bill Weld on Energy & Oil
: Feb 15, 2019
Climate change dangers are real; rejoin Paris Accords
Whether as protection of a fragile ecosystem or as stewardship of God's creation, there is a pressing need to act on climate change. The United States must rejoin the Paris climate accords, and adopt targets consonant with those of other industrialized
nations. We must protect our economy, yes, but we must also recognize that increased natural disasters and unfamiliar weather patterns threaten to strip the snow from our White Mountains, and to melt all the mountain glaciers worldwide
upon which hundreds of millions of people depend for their only source of water. Europe has its cathedrals and monuments; we have our mountains, canyons, valleys, rivers and streams--and we had damn well better take care of them. Our borders are safe in
New Hampshire, but it is not a stretch to say that if climate change is not addressed, our coastlines and those of all other countries will over time be obliterated by storm surge and the melting of the polar ice cap.
Click for Bill Weld on other issues.
Source: Speech in New Hampshire by 2020 presidential hopefuls
Howard Schultz on Foreign Policy
: Feb 12, 2019
China is not an ally, but we need to work with them
I don't believe China is our ally. But I also do not believe China is our enemy. China is a fierce competitor of the United States. There are areas that are in our national interest to cooperate with China.
We need China's cooperation to help solve the problem of North Korea. We need China's cooperation specifically with lots of other nations, with regard to doing everything we can to solve the climate change issue.
Click for Howard Schultz on other issues.
Source: CNN Town Hall: 2020 presidential hopefuls
Kamala Harris on Free Trade
: Feb 11, 2019
Opposed TPP for invalidating California environmental laws
Harris opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership, though for different reasons than Trump did. During the 2016 election, she argued that its adoption meant "invalidating California's landmark climate change and environmental laws."
She also argued that the agreement wasn't transparent.
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: Council on Foreign Relations on 2020 candidates
Pete Buttigieg on Energy & Oil
: Feb 10, 2019
Green New Deal is a framework addressing climate & jobs
I think the elegance from a policy perspective of the concept of the
Green New Deal is, it matches a sense of urgency about that problem of climate change with a sense of opportunity around what the solutions might represent.
Obviously, the Green New Deal is more of a plan than it is a fully articulated set of policies. But the idea that we need to race toward that goal and that we
should do it in a way that enhances the economic justice and the level of economic opportunity in our country, I believe that's exactly the right direction to be going in.
Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.
Source: CNN 2019 "State of the Union" on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Amy Klobuchar on Energy & Oil
: Feb 10, 2019
Rejoin Paris climate deal; meet UN goals
- Climate change: Set goals for cutting greenhouse emissions and rejoin Paris climate deal.
- Klobuchar wants to meet the goals of the
U.N. panel on climate change: cut greenhouse gases by 45 percent by 2030, and increase renewable energy by up to 47 percent by 2050.
-
She has not given specifics recently on how she would achieve those goals.
- But in 2008, Klobuchar pushed for a bill to cut emissions 70 percent by the year 2050 via a cap-and-trade market system.
- Klobuchar would also rejoin the Paris accord and push to set national guidelines to boost renewable fuel use.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Kamala Harris on Crime
: Feb 5, 2019
Ex-felons re-enter society, instead of broken justice system
We need our leaders to speak truth about climate change and about our broken criminal justice system.We need an America where no mother or father has to teach their son that people may stop him or kill him because of the color of his skin.
The strength of our union is in our diversity and our unity. We see the State of our Union in the formerly incarcerated individual who re-enters society looking to contribute and in the DREAMer who pursues her future in the face of uncertainty.
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: Democratic prebuttal to the 2019 State of the Union speech
Bernie Sanders on Energy & Oil
: Feb 5, 2019
We have 12 years to transform to sustainable energy
As important as it is to respond to what President Trump said [in the State of the Union speech], it is even more important to discuss what Trump refused to talk about--which happens to include some of the most important issues facing our country and
the world. How can a president of the United States give a State of the Union speech and not mention climate change when the leading scientists of the world tell us that climate change is real, is caused by human activity,
and is already causing devastating harm in the United States and in much of the world. Further, they tell us that we have a very short 12 years in order to transform our energy system away from fossil fuel and into
energy efficiency and sustainable energy if we are going to have a planet that is healthy and habitable for our kids and grandchildren.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Progressive response to 2019 State of the Union speech
Larry Hogan on Energy & Oil
: Jan 30, 2019
Clean energy; green jobs
We pushed for landmark legislation that cemented our position as a national and international leader in combating greenhouse gas emissions. We expanded the Climate Change Commission and implemented clean air standards that are stronger than 48 other
states and nearly twice as strong as the Paris Accord recommendations. This year let's work together to enact the "Clean Cars Act" and to support clean and renewable energy solutions and green energy jobs.
Click for Larry Hogan on other issues.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to the Maryland legislature
Kamala Harris on Energy & Oil
: Jan 22, 2019
Climate change important, but not only issue
"On the issue of climate change: Every parent wants to know that their child can drink clean water and breathe clean air. And that same parent wants to know that they're able to bring home enough money with one job to pay their bills and pay their rent
and put food on the table, instead of having to work two or three jobs," she said. "Every person wants to know that there will be a criminal-justice system that is fair to all people, regardless of their race.."
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: The Atlantic, "Pick a Lane," on 2020 Democratic primary
Kamala Harris on Energy & Oil
: Jan 21, 2019
Don't withdraw from the Paris climate accord
- California's attorney general, Harris launched an investigation into Exxon Mobil in 2016, after reports that the oil and gas giant lied for decades about the risks of climate change.
- Harris criticized President Donald Trump's decision to
withdraw from the Paris climate accord.
- Additionally, Harris opposed the Trump administration's proposal to reverse Obama-era fuel efficiency standards for cars and light trucks.
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Elizabeth Warren on Energy & Oil
: Jan 17, 2019
Supports the idea of a Green New Deal
- Climate change: Supports reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
- Warren favors forcing public companies to report their greenhouse gas emissions and any potential effects climate change might have on their businesses.
-
She also supports "the idea of a Green New Deal," a broad package of proposals floated by some Democrats and environmental groups aimed at taking action against climate change.
-
But while Warren fielded questions from voters about climate change at an Iowa event this month, she did not focus on the issue the day she
announced she was forming a presidential exploratory committee.
Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Kirsten Gillibrand on Energy & Oil
: Jan 16, 2019
Limit then cap-and-trade carbon emissions
- Climate change: Create a cap-and-trade commodity market for carbon emissions. Ban new drilling on federal lands.
- Writing in the Wall Street Journal in 2009, Gillibrand proposed establishing a cap-and-trade commodity market to mandate a limit
on carbon emissions and allow businesses to trade their emissions allowances as commodities.
- In addition, she has proposed the "Keep it in the Ground Act," which would ban any new leases for gas or oil drilling on federal lands.
Click for Kirsten Gillibrand on other issues.
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Tulsi Gabbard on Energy & Oil
: Jan 14, 2019
No more fossil fuels for electricity by 2050
One of the most aggressive pieces of climate change legislation in Congress, Gabbard's "OFF Fuels for a Better Future Act" would mandate a dramatic move away from fossil fuels. The plan would require electric utilities to use 80 percent renewable
resources by 2027 and 100 percent by 2035. In addition, it would set similar goals for car emissions, mandating zero emissions by 2050. Finally, it would end all subsidies and tax breaks for fossil fuels and it would ban fracking.
Click for Tulsi Gabbard on other issues.
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Julian Castro on Energy & Oil
: Jan 12, 2019
Rejoin the Paris Climate Treaty
Castro has criticized President Donald Trump for withdrawing from the Paris climate change accord. - Castro's overall approach in public office was to try to convince businesses to increase their reliance on renewable energy voluntarily.
-
While he was mayor of San Antonio, the local utility committed to close a coal plant and embrace a 20 percent renewables goal.
- It is not clear if Castro supports a carbon tax or "cap and trade" policy to reduce carbon emissions.
Click for Julian Castro on other issues.
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Kamala Harris on Energy & Oil
: Jan 8, 2019
Climate change is a national security threat to America
When you speak to experts on international conflicts, you will find that they look at climate change as a national security threat--a "threat multiplier" that will exacerbate poverty and political instability, creating conditions that enable violence,
despair, even terrorism. An unstable, erratic climate will beget an unstable, erratic world.For example, climate change will lead to droughts. Droughts will lead to famine. Famine will drive desperate people to leave their homes in search of
sustenance. Massive flows of displaced people will lead to refugee crises. Refugee crisis will lead to tension and instability across borders.
The hard truth is that climate change is going to cause terrible instability and desperation, and that will
put American national security at risk. That's why as part of President Obama's national security strategy, climate change was identified as a national security threat of the highest priority.
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: The Truths We Hold, by Kamala Harris, p.244-5
Jay Inslee on Energy & Oil
: Jan 2, 2019
Spur green R&D; restrict power plants and emissions
As he did in Washington State, [to deal with climate change] Inslee would propose a mix of government investments and incentives to spur other investment, restrictions on power plants and emissions, and programs to promote R&D and job growth.
An endless number of jobs can be created in the climate arena, Inslee says. It's the way to make a real dent in income inequality and have the Democratic Party bring tangible solutions to communities in rural America that have been left behind.
With his inaction, President Donald Trump--Inslee calls him "the commander in chief of delusion"--is engaged in a "disgusting selling-out of the country," a "crime"
against the aspirational optimism of America.He's put together an email list of 200,000 climate advocates, which could become a beachhead of support around the country [in his presidential run].
Click for Jay Inslee on other issues.
Source: The Atlantic on 2020 presidential hopefuls, "Climate Change"
Jay Inslee on Energy & Oil
: Jan 2, 2019
Decade-long track record on climate change
Jay Inslee thinks Americans [will pay attention] when it comes to climate change. And that's why he's going to run for president. "When you've been working on something for over a decade, and now seeing people awakening to that, it's just really
gratifying and heartening," the Washington governor recently told me, sitting in his private study on the top floor of the governor's mansion. When it comes to climate change, there now appears to be "an appetite for someone who has credibility and a
long track record and, most importantly, a vision statement. It's changed to show an opening in a Democratic primary, I believe."As the 2018 midterm campaigns came to an end, Inslee read through searing international and federal climate-change
assessments, took a trip to view the wildfire damage in California--and he shifted [in his decision to run for President]. Now "we're laying the groundwork that would make this a feasible thing in the relatively short term," Inslee told me.
Click for Jay Inslee on other issues.
Source: The Atlantic on 2020 presidential hopefuls, "Climate Change"
Jay Inslee on Energy & Oil
: Jan 2, 2019
Climate change threatens environment & national security
If there is a new Democratic president come 2021, he or she will get pulled in all sorts of policy directions. Inslee says he has one priority: global warming. It's not theoretical, or a cause just for tree huggers anymore. "Putting off dealing with it
for a year or two or kicking it to some new bipartisan commission won't work," he says. He plans to focus on the threat that climate change poses to the environment and national security--the mega-storms and fires causing millions
in damages, the weather changes that will cause mass migrations, the droughts that will devastate farmers in America and around the world.
Even more so, he wants to talk about the risk to American opportunity. "We have two existential threats right now: one is to our natural systems, and one is to our economic systems," he said.
Click for Jay Inslee on other issues.
Source: The Atlantic on 2020 presidential hopefuls, "Climate Change"
Bernie Sanders on Energy & Oil
: Nov 25, 2018
No more debate on climate change; it's here & costs $100Bs
Q: The Trump administration issued a new report, a really sharp warning about the immediate danger of climate change. What action will Congress take?SANDERS: Well, what Congress should do is move aggressively in listening not only to this report from
the Trump administration but from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which tells us that climate change is already doing irreparable harm all over this planet. What Congress has got to do is take Trump on, take the fossil fuel industry on,
and transform our energy system away from fossil fuel, to energy efficiency and sustainable energies like solar and wind.
Q: The report estimates knocking as much as 10% off the size of the U.S. economy by the end of this century because of related
costs.
SANDERS: The debate is over about the reality of climate change and the incredible and costly harm it's going to do to this country. We are talking about hundreds of billions of dollars in damage that we're going to have to pay for.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: CBS Face the Nation 2018 interviews of 2020 hopefuls
Donald Trump on Energy & Oil
: Oct 14, 2018
Climate change isn't a hoax, but don't spend trillions on it
President Trump is backing off his claim that climate change is a hoax but says he doesn't know if it's manmade. Trump said he doesn't want to put the US at a disadvantage in responding to climate change: "I think something's happening. Something's
changing and it'll change back again," he said. "I don't think it's a hoax. I think there's probably a difference. But I don't know that it's manmade. I will say this: I don't want to give trillions & trillions of dollars. I don't want to lose millions
& millions of jobs."Trump called climate change a hoax in November 2012 stating, "The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive." He later said he was joking about the Chinese
connection, but in years since continued to call global warming a hoax.
As far as climate "changing back," temperature records kept by NASA show that the world hasn't had a cooler-than-average year since 1976 or a cooler-than-normal month since 1985.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: America OnLine news on 2018 Trump Administration
Beto O`Rourke on Energy & Oil
: Oct 9, 2018
Unprecedented action to build clean energy economy
Q: Consider climate change a serious threat?Ted Cruz (R): No. Doesn't believe it's real. Says data disproving it is being ignored as liberals want government power over economy, energy sector & all aspects of our lives.
Beto O'Rourke (D): Yes. "Crucial now more than ever that US & world leaders act urgently to address" it. Climate change increases droughts, wildfires, hurricanes, & other disasters.
Q: Climate Change: Limit or tax production of greenhouse gases?
Support US participation in Paris Climate Accord despite President Trump's withdrawal?
Ted Cruz (R): Opposes regulating greenhouse gases. Paris Accord "would have destroyed $3 trillion in American GDP & killed
6.5 million industrial sector jobs by 2040."
Beto O'Rourke (D): Limit greenhouse gases. "Need to take unprecedented action" in building clean energy economy. Opposes withdrawing from Paris Accord.
Click for Beto O`Rourke on other issues.
Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Texas Senate race
Amy Klobuchar on Health Care
: Aug 24, 2018
Allow sick people to obtain insurance
It would be hard to find two candidates further apart on issues than state Rep. Jim Newberger and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who are fighting for the six year seat in the U.S. Senate. In a debate at the Minnesota State Fair, Republican Newberger called
for a return to free-market health care, said he does not believe climate change is man-made and declared a wall is needed along the Mexican border.Democrat Klobuchar, meanwhile, told the Minnesota Public Radio debate
audience that federal laws such as allowing sick people to obtain insurance should be continued, said she agrees with a majority of scientists who think climate change is at least partly due to human activity and felt Mexican border security should be a
combination of a wall, fence and personnel.
In a rare area of agreement, Klobuchar and Newberger said the federal government needs to find a way to keep prescription medicine costs down.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: Twin Cities Pioneer Press on 2018 Minnesota Senate debate
Marianne Williamson on Energy & Oil
: Jul 24, 2018
Massive effort to combat effects of climate change
Climate change denial is moving irretrievably into the dustbin of history's worst ideas. American citizens--if not yet the majority of politicians currently in power--are ready to embark upon a massive effort to combat the effects not
only of catastrophic weather conditions, but also the effects of climate change denial on our environmental and political policies. The American people are being vastly underserved by America's rejection of the Paris Climate Accord.
Click for Marianne Williamson on other issues.
Source: Healing the Soul of America, by Marianne Williamson, p.178
Donald Trump on Energy & Oil
: May 29, 2018
OpEd: US is only country out of 197 to reject Paris accord
The US government has completely abdicated its role as a leader in the effort to slow and ultimately reverse climate change. In 2017, the Trump administration shocked the world by rejecting the Paris climate agreement--the only country out of 197 to do
so. This is bad not only for the environment but also for our economy. We should be positioning ourselves to be the leader in the new energy economy. Instead, our government refuses to acknowledge that climate change is occurring.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: The Right Answer, by Rep. John Delaney, p. 81
Mike Bloomberg on Energy & Oil
: Apr 22, 2018
America should be big part of climate solution
Q: Special Envoy to the United Nations for Climate Action Michael Bloomberg tells us he's making good on his pledge to help America's financial commitment to the Paris climate change accords, an international agreement that President Trump pulled out of
last year:BLOOMBERG: If the government is not going to do it, we all have a responsibility. I'm able to do it. So, yes, I'm going to send them a check for the monies that America had promised to the organization as though they got it from federal
government.
Q: $4.5 million dollars this year. Will you do the same next year?
BLOOMBERG: Hopefully, by then, President Trump will have changed his view.
Q: President Trump has been a huge critic of this Paris climate change accord.
BLOOMBERG: Yes, but he should change his mind and say, "look, there really is a problem here, America is part of the problem, America is a big part of the solution," and we should go in and help the world stop a potential disaster.
Click for Mike Bloomberg on other issues.
Source: CBS Face the Nation 2018 interviews of 2020 hopefuls
Mike Bloomberg on Energy & Oil
: Apr 22, 2018
If some countries do right thing on climate, we all benefit
Q: One of the criticisms of the Paris climate change accords, is that it's nonbinding. And none of the developed nations who are part of it have actually met their benchmarks.BLOOMBERG: Look, it's dangerous to keep doing what we're doing.
If everybody would do the right thing, yes, it would be better. But if some people or some countries do the right thing, we all benefit from that.
Q: But the criticism is that industrialized nations aren't living up to those pledges.
BLOOMBERG:
I can't speak for other nations. All I know is that America, I believe, will meet its commitment by 2025 to reduce greenhouse gasses by an agreed amount. And if we do it, hopefully, other countries will do it as well.
Q: Do you feel like you're filling
a leadership gap?
BLOOMBERG: This is what the American public say they want to do. You have got companies and states and individuals all agreeing to step in, report to the United Nations what our progress is, fulfill our commitment to fund part of it.
Click for Mike Bloomberg on other issues.
Source: CBS Face the Nation 2018 interviews of 2020 hopefuls
Bernie Sanders on Environment
: Apr 1, 2018
Leave a planet to our kids that is healthy & habitable
Q: You sit on Environment Committee and you've been a harsh critic of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. He's facing a number of questions about ethics--SANDERS: The issue goes well beyond that problem. Climate change is already devastating, and yet we
have a president and a head of the EPA who do not even recognize reality of climate change. And over the last number of years we have made success against air pollution and against water pollution. We have made some success in transforming our energy
system. And the idea to go back and listen to the short term needs of the coal industry or the oil industry makes no sense to me at all. Look, here is the truth. What the scientific community is telling us is that climate change is one of the great
environmental crises facing this planet. And if we don't get a handle on that, we're going to leave a planet to our kids that is not healthy or habitable. We've got to address that. The Trump administration is moving in exactly the wrong direction.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: CBS Face the Nation 2018 interviews of 2020 hopefuls
Don Blankenship on Abortion
: Mar 20, 2018
AdWatch: Positions himself as anti-abortion and pro-Trump
Blankenship has used the ads to paint his rivals as insufficiently conservative, blasting [GOP primary opponent Evan] Jenkins over his positions on ObamaCare and climate change and [GOP primary opponent Patrick] Morrisey on abortion.
He's positioned himself as an unshakable ally of President Donald Trump, who received 68 percent of the vote in the state.
Click for Don Blankenship on other issues.
Source: Politico.com AdWatch on 2018 West Virginia Senatorial race
Larry Hogan on Energy & Oil
: Jan 31, 2018
Combat greenhouse gas emissions; grow green jobs
We pushed for landmark legislation to cement our state's position as a national and international leader in combating greenhouse gas emissions. We expanded the Climate Change Commission. We enacted the Clean Water Commerce Act, the Clean Cars Act, and
several other bills to protect our environment and to grow clean energy investment and green jobs. And we enacted clean air standards which are stronger than 48 other states and nearly twice as strong as the Paris accord recommendations.
Click for Larry Hogan on other issues.
Source: 2018 Maryland State of the State address
Bernie Sanders on Energy & Oil
: Sep 21, 2017
Climate change is issue for entire international community
At a time when climate change is causing devastating problems here in America and around the world, foreign policy is about whether we work with the international community--with China, Russia, India and countries around the world--
to transform our energy systems away from fossil fuel to energy efficiency and sustainable energy.
Sensible foreign policy understands that climate change is a real threat to every country on earth, that it is not a hoax, and that no country alone can effectively combat it.
It is an issue for the entire international community, and an issue that the United States should be leading in, not ignoring or denying.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Westminster College speech in Where We Go From Here, p. 94
Donald Trump on Energy & Oil
: Mar 28, 2017
Revive the coal industry; end efforts to curb carbon
President Trump, flanked by company executives and miners, signed a long-promised executive order to nullify President Barack Obama's climate change efforts and revive the coal industry, effectively ceding American leadership in the international
campaign to curb the dangerous heating of the planet.Trump made clear that the United States had no intention of meeting the commitments that his predecessor had made to curb planet-warming carbon dioxide pollution, turning denials of climate change
into national policy. Trump directed the Environmental Protection Agency to start the complex and lengthy legal process of withdrawing and rewriting the Obama-era Clean Power Plan, which would have closed hundreds of coal-fired power plants, frozen
construction of new plants and replaced them with vast new wind and solar farms.
"C'mon, fellas. You know what this is? You know what this says?" Trump said to the miners. "You're going back to work."
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: N.Y.Times on 2017 Trump Administration
Tom Steyer on Corporations
: Mar 23, 2017
Trump puts corporate interests ahead of people's interests
Q: During the confirmation hearings for Rex Tillerson and others, you took out attack ads.Steyer: Those guys disagree with us on almost every point. One of the things we strongly believe is that the people Trump nominated put corporate interests
ahead of American interests. We feel it's important to get citizens to be reminded of this common thread: that the new administration doesn't hate working against climate change, they don't hate science--they just love oil and gas profits.
Click for Tom Steyer on other issues.
Source: Nick Stockton in Wired.com on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Larry Hogan on Energy & Oil
: Feb 1, 2017
Clean Cars Act: invest in electric cars & charging stations
We cemented our state's position as a national leader in combating greenhouse gas emissions. We enacted legislation expanding the Climate Change Commission.This year, let's make targeted, common sense investments to support our green jobs initiatives
and to attract private investment for clean energy projects in our state.
We need your help to pass our Clean Cars Act of 2017, which will increase our investment in both electric vehicles and in the charging station tax credit programs.
Click for Larry Hogan on other issues.
Source: 2017 State of the State address to Maryland Legislature
Bernie Sanders on Energy & Oil
: Nov 15, 2016
Pushed energy efficiency block grants
As part of the 2009 stimulus package, working with Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey, we passed funding for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program. This legislation, strongly supported by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, has been
one of the government's major efforts to combat climate change. It provided billions of dollars for communities all across the country to move toward energy efficiency and sustainable energy.
In Vermont, a number of schools throughout the state were able to use that money to place solar panels on their rooftops.
This not only cut carbon emissions, but saved schools money on their electric bills.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Our Revolution, by Bernie Sanders, p. 45
Bernie Sanders on Energy & Oil
: Nov 15, 2016
Cut carbon 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050
By combating climate change and transforming our energy system away from fossil fuels and into energy efficiency and sustainable energy, we not only help lead the world in saving the planet, but we create an extraordinary number of good-paying jobs.
We have a short window of time to dramatically cut the greenhouse gases that cause global warming. I have laid out a plan to cut U.S. carbon pollution by at least 40 percent by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050 from 1990 levels by establishing a tax on
carbon, aggressively implementing energy efficiency efforts, quickly moving away form fossil fuels, and deploying historic levels of new renewable energy like wind, solar, and geothermal. This is an absolutely and necessarily achievable goal. It is also
a huge opportunity in terms of strengthening our economy and creating jobs.
Energy efficiency truly is a win-win-win in the fight against climate change, in terms of reducing energy use, saving consumers money, and creating jobs.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Our Revolution, by Bernie Sanders, p. 251
Bernie Sanders on Energy & Oil
: Nov 15, 2016
2015 & 2016 were hottest years on record: debate is over
The debate is over. The vast majority of the scientific community has spoken. Climate change is real, it is caused by human activity, and it is already causing devastating harm. It is absolutely imperative that we boldly transform our energy system away
from fossil fuel to energy efficiency and sustainable energy. The future of the planet is at stake.While carbon dioxide accounts for 81% of greenhouse gas emissions, it is not the sole problem. Methane, which is released during the extraction and
combustion of natural gas, oil, and coal, accounts for 11% of greenhouse gas emissions. Nitrous oxide--a by-product of fossil fuel combustion--accounts for 6%.
The results of dumping these heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere year after year
are frighteningly clear. The year 2015 was the hottest year on record, and 2016 is on pace to be hotter still. July 2016 was the hottest month ever recorded on the planet. Thirteen of the fifteen hottest years have occurred since the year 2000.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Our Revolution, by Bernie Sanders, p. 355-7
Donald Trump on Energy & Oil
: Oct 9, 2016
Focus on disease & clean water, not "climate change"
Q: What are your views on climate change?TRUMP: There is still much that needs to be investigated in the field of "climate change." Perhaps the best use of our limited financial resources should be in dealing with making sure that every person in the
world has clean water. Perhaps we should focus on eliminating lingering diseases around the world like malaria. Perhaps we should focus on efforts to increase food production to keep pace with an ever-growing world population.
Perhaps we should be focused on developing energy sources and power production that alleviates the need for dependence on fossil fuels. We must decide on how best to proceed so that we can make lives better, safer and more prosperous.
CLINTON: When it comes to climate change, the science is crystal clear. Climate change is an urgent threat and a defining challenge of our time.
JILL STEIN: Climate change is the greatest existential threat that humanity has ever faced.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: ScienceDebate.org: 20 questions for 2016 presidential race
Donald Trump on Energy & Oil
: Sep 26, 2016
America invested in solar panels and it was a disaster
CLINTON: Some country is going to be the clean-energy superpower of the 21st century. Donald thinks that climate change is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese.TRUMP: I did not--
CLINTON: I think it's real. I think science is real.
TRUMP: I do not
say that.
CLINTON: And I think it's important that we deal with it, both at home & abroad. Here's what we can do. We can deploy a half a billion more solar panels. We can have enough clean energy to power every home. We can build a new modern electric
grid. That's a lot of jobs; that's a lot of new economic activity.
TRUMP: She talks about solar panels. We invested in a solar company, our country. That was a disaster. They lost plenty of money on that one. Now, look, I'm a great believer in all
forms of energy, but we're putting a lot of people out of work. Our energy policies are a disaster. Our country is losing so much in terms of energy, in terms of paying off our debt. You can't do what you're looking to do with $20 trillion in debt.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: First 2016 Presidential Debate at Hofstra University
Jay Inslee on Energy & Oil
: Sep 19, 2016
I see climate change already affecting Washingtonians
Q: According to Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations: "Climate change is the most emblematic challenge in this age of globalization. For the sake of our grandchildren, we cannot refuse that challenge." (The Case For True
Leadership on Climate Change--Kofi Annan Foundation, 30 Nov 2015) What is your opinion of this quotation?Jay Inslee: Support.
Q: Please explain your response.
Jay Inslee: I wholeheartedly agree.
I see the impacts of climate change already affecting Washingtonians everywhere I go. None are more jeopardized by the climate related disasters like fire, flooding, and sea level rise than
our most vulnerable communities. We need a comprehensive strategy that reduces carbon pollution from Washington while harnessing the jobs and economic opportunities that are coming to those who take action on climate change.
Click for Jay Inslee on other issues.
Source: LWV's Vote411.org on 2016 Washington Gubernatorial Race
Mike Pence on Energy & Oil
: Jul 14, 2016
Climate change is not a resolved issue in science
Pence was asked if he is "convinced that climate change is man-made." Pence responded: "I don't know that that is a resolved issue in science today. Just a few years ago, we were talking about global warming. We haven't seen a lot of warming lately.
I remember back in the '70s we were talking about the coming ice age." [MSNBC.com, 2/21/14] Pence similarly stated on the May 5, 2009, edition of MSNBC's Hardball that "I think the science is very mixed on the subject of global warming."
In July 2014, Pence sent a letter to Indiana's congressional delegation encouraging them to defund the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan, which fights climate change by placing the first-ever federal limits on carbon pollution from power
plants. Pence has since indicated that he will comply with the Clean Power Plan if it is upheld by the Supreme Court, but Indiana remains one of the states challenging the plan's legality. [The Hill, 7/10/14; Post-Tribune, 6/25/16; ClimateWire, 2/26/16]
Click for Mike Pence on other issues.
Source: Media Matters, "What Media Should Know," on 2016 Veepstakes
Bernie Sanders on Energy & Oil
: Jul 9, 2016
Tax carbon, methane, and other greenhouse gases
[After the 2016 primaries], we were victorious in including amendments in the platform that made it the policy of the Democratic Party to fight for:- Levying a tax on carbon, methane, and other greenhouse gas emissions to aggressively combat
climate change;
- Making massive investments in wind, solar, and other renewable energy.
All of these progressive policies were at the heart of our campaign, and I was very proud of the accomplishment of our platform-writing team.
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Source: Where We Go From Here, by B. Sanders, p.16-7, on 2016 DNC
Steve Bullock on Energy & Oil
: Jun 21, 2016
Promotes wind and solar power and clean coal for Montana
Governor Bullock wants funding to expand wind and solar power projects and find cleaner ways to burn coal. "Montanans expect that we will protect our clean air and water, our lucrative outdoor heritage, our communities and our farmers and ranchers.
I am committed to sustainable and responsible development of all of our energy resources." Bullock says coal is an important part of Montana's future. But he also said the energy market is changing and there are concerns about climate change.
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Source: Montana NPR on 2016 Montana gubernatorial race
Bernie Sanders on Energy & Oil
: Mar 9, 2016
End fracking in the US
I hope that Secretary Clinton would join me if we are serious about climate change, about imposing a tax on carbon on the fossil fuel industry and making massive investments in energy efficiency and sustainable energy.
I hope you'll join me in ending fracking in the United States of America.
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Source: 2016 PBS Democratic primary debate in Miami
Hillary Clinton on Environment
: Mar 9, 2016
We need green energy jobs & to build on Paris Agreement
We have to combat climate change, and no state has more at stake in that than Florida. And the best way to do that is not only enforcing the laws we have, but also the clean power plan that President Obama has put forth that I support, and the
Paris Agreement that I think was a huge step forward in the world, that Senator Sanders said was too weak, but I helped to lay the groundwork for that. But we need more clean energy jobs.
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Source: 2016 PBS Democratic primary debate in Miami
Hillary Clinton on Foreign Policy
: Feb 29, 2016
Trump is a unilateralist vs. Hillary's multilateralist hawk
- Green Energy: Hillary favors investment in renewable energy as a means to address climate change; Trump does not.
-
Multilateralism: Hillary accepts the current framework of American engagement with allies around the world; Trump would re-negotiate most of them (but he is not an isolationist, like some Republicans who reject the current international framework).
-
Mideast intervention: Hillary favors keeping America engaged militarily, while Trump opposes most military action, especially in the Middle East.
This reverses the standard party positions: Hillary is more hawkish than Trump.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton On The Issues, by J. Gordon
Hillary Clinton on Energy & Oil
: Feb 4, 2016
Half a billion solar panels in first 4 years
Q: There are three big lifts that you've talked about: immigration, gun reform, climate change. What do you do first?CLINTON: Well, I don't accept that premise. I think that we've got so much business we have to do. We've talked a lot tonight about
what we're against. But I'm for a lot of things. I don't want to just stop bad things from happening, I want to start good things from happening. And I believe, if I'm so fortunate to get the nomination, I will begin to work immediately on putting
together an agenda, beginning to talk with members of Congress and others about how we can push forward. I want to have half a billion more solar panels deployed, the first four years. I want to have enough clean energy to power
every home the next four years. I want us to keep working on the Affordable Care Act, to get not only to 100 percent coverage, but bring down the costs of prescription drugs and out-of-pocket costs.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: MSNBC Democratic primary debate in New Hampshire
Barack Obama on Energy & Oil
: Jan 20, 2016
Clean energy for climate change & creating new business
We need commitment when it comes to developing clean energy sources. If anybody still wants to dispute the science around climate change, have at it. You will be pretty lonely, because you'll be debating our military, most of America's business leaders,
the majority of the American people, almost the entire scientific community. But even if the planet wasn't at stake -- why would we want to pass up the chance for American businesses to produce and sell the energy of the future?
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Source: 2016 State of the Union address to Congress
Barack Obama on Energy & Oil
: Jan 12, 2016
Make technology work for us on climate change
How do we make technology work for us, and not against us, especially when it comes to solving urgent challenges like climate change?Look, if anybody still wants to dispute the science around climate change, have at it. You will be pretty lonely
because you'll be debating our military, most of America's business leaders, the majority of the American people, almost the entire scientific community, and 200 nations around the world who agree it's a problem and intend to solve it.
But even if the planet wasn't at stake, even if 2014 wasn't the warmest year on record until 2015 turned out even hotter--why would we want to pass up the chance for American businesses to produce and sell the energy of the future?
None of this is
going to happen overnight, and yes, there are plenty of entrenched interests who want to protect the status quo. But the jobs we'll create, the money we'll save, the planet we'll preserve, that is the kind of future our kids and our grandkids deserve.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2016 State of the Union address
Cory Booker on Energy & Oil
: Dec 10, 2015
Climate change requires American leadership
When I was [in France for the Paris climate talks] over there, I was moved to see virtually all of the globe represented by leaders, NGOs, and major corporations. Everyone was there. There was an array of the planet coming together, focused on this
issue of the impacts of climate change. Conversations ranged from focusing on us being innovative and how we are dealing with renewable technology, all the way to resiliency for poor populations who are disproportionately affected by climate change.
This is an issue that affects America that we cannot solve without joining with the rest of the globe. American leadership is incredibly needed. I am proud to send a strong message to the rest of the globe that we are here in the
United States strongly supporting the ambitious commitments of President Obama, and that we will defend those communities that are facing this crisis. We will be leaders.
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Source: Library of Congress transcript of Senate Floor Speech
Cory Booker on Energy & Oil
: Dec 10, 2015
Ice-melt is literally creating climate refugees
[At the Paris climate talks] I led a bilateral conversation with Bangladesh, talking to peer leaders--the U.S. sitting down with Ministry and Parliamentary members from Bangladesh. By many estimates, Bangladesh is the most vulnerable large country to
climate change. Due to climate change [including rising sea levels and ice-pack] melting off the Himalayas, right now Bangladesh is losing 1% of its arable land each year, displacing millions of Bangladeshis, literally creating climate refugees.
Click for Cory Booker on other issues.
Source: Library of Congress transcript of Senate Floor Speech
Bernie Sanders on Environment
: Nov 15, 2015
Climate change will lead to international security crises
Q: You mentioned that climate change in fact is related to terrorism. Can you talk about that?SANDERS: Well, that's what the CIA and the Department of Defense tell us. If we are going to see an increase in drought and flooding and extreme weather as a
result of climate change, what that means is that peoples all over the world are going to be fighting over limited natural resources. When you have drought, when people can't grow their crops, they're going to migrate into cities.
And when people migrate into cities, and they don't have jobs, there's going to be a lot more instability, a lot more unemployment. And people will be subject to the types of propaganda that al Qaeda and ISIS are using right now. I think, when we
talk about all of the possible ravages of climate change, which, to my mind, is just a huge planetary crisis, increased international conflict is one of the issues that we have got to appreciate will happen.
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Source: CBS Face the Nation 2015 coverage:2016 presidential hopefuls
Bernie Sanders on Energy & Oil
: Nov 14, 2015
Climate change partly causes rise of terrorist groups
Q: You say you want to rid the planet of ISIS. In the previous debate you said the greatest threat to national security was climate change. Do you still believe that?
SANDERS: Absolutely. In fact, climate change is directly related to the growth of terrorism.
And if we do not get our act together and listen to what the scientists say, you're going to see countries all over the world--this is what the
CIA says--they're going to be struggling over limited amounts of water, limited amounts of land to grow their crops ask you're going to see all kinds of international conflict.
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Source: 2015 CBS Democratic primary debate in Iowa
Donald Trump on Energy & Oil
: Nov 3, 2015
Green energy is just an expensive feel-good for tree-huggers
There has been a big push to develop alternative forms of energy--so-called green energy--from renewable sources. That's a big mistake. To begin with, the whole push for renewable energy is being driven by the wrong motivation, the mistaken belief that
global climate change is being caused by carbon emissions. If you don't buy that--and I don't--then what we have is really just an expensive way of making the tree-huggers feel good about themselves.The most popular source of green energy is solar
as several decades after installing solar panels to get your money back. That's not exactly what I would call a good investment. Even if that number is only half right, what kind of investment do you want to make that takes 20 years before you break even
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p. 65
Tom Steyer on Energy & Oil
: Oct 28, 2015
2015: Next president must have plan for climate change
The real test for our next president will be to make sure America avoids the worst consequences of climate change and to put us on a path to achieving more than 50% clean energy by 2030. Clean energy is the ultimate growth strategy for our economy--one
that would add millions more good-paying jobs in the United States. Our next president will be responsible for setting our economic agenda and protecting American families, and that must include a real plan for addressing climate change.
Click for Tom Steyer on other issues.
Source: Medium.com on 2020 Democratic primary
Bernie Sanders on Energy & Oil
: Oct 13, 2015
Address climate change so we can leave planet to our kids
Q [to all]: What is the greatest national security threat to the United States?CHAFEE: It's certainly the chaos in the Middle East. And it all started with the Iraq invasion.
O'MALLEY: I believe that nuclear Iran remains the biggest threat,
along with the threat of ISIL; climate change, of course, makes cascading threats.
CLINTON: I think it has to be continued threat from the spread of nuclear material that can fall into the wrong hands.
WEBB: Our greatest long-term strategic challenge is our relation with China.
Q: Senator Sanders, greatest national security threat?
SANDERS: The scientific community is telling us that if we do not address the
global crisis of climate change, transform our energy system away from fossil fuel to sustainable energy, the planet that we're going to be leaving our kids and our grandchildren may well not be habitable. That is a major crisis.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: 2015 CNN Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas
Bernie Sanders on Energy & Oil
: Oct 13, 2015
Climate change is a moral issue: tax on carbon
Pope Francis made this point. This [climate change] is a moral issue. The scientists are telling us we need to move boldly. I am proud that, along with Senator Boxer, a few years ago, we introduced the first piece of climate change legislation which
called for a tax on carbon. Nothing is gonna happen unless we [deal] with campaign finance reform, because the fossil fuel industry is funding the Republican Party, which denies the reality of climate change. The future of the planet is at stake.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: 2015 CNN Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas
Hillary Clinton on Energy & Oil
: Oct 13, 2015
Obama & I crashed China meeting and got climate change deal
Q: What will you do about climate change?CLINTON: I have been on the forefront of dealing with climate change, starting in 2009, when President Obama and I crashed a meeting with the Chinese and got them to sign up to the first international
agreement to combat climate change that they'd ever joined.
Q: Are you referring to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen?
CLINTON: When we met in Copenhagen in 2009 and, literally, President Obama and I were hunting for the
Chinese, going throughout this huge convention center, because we knew we had to get them to agree to something. Because there will be no effective efforts against climate change unless China and India join with the rest of the world. They told us they'd
left for the airport; we found out they were having a secret meeting. We marched up, we broke in, we said, "Let's sit down and talk about what we need to do." And we did come up with the first international agreement that China has signed.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: 2015 CNN Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas
Hillary Clinton on Energy & Oil
: Oct 13, 2015
Take opportunity of climate change to raise our economy
I've traveled across our country over the last months listening and learning, and I've put forward specific plans about how we're going to create more good-paying jobs: by investing
in infrastructure and clean energy, by making it possible once again to invest in science and research, and taking the opportunity posed by climate change to grow our economy.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: 2015 CNN Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas
Hillary Clinton on Energy & Oil
: Oct 13, 2015
I now oppose Keystone, but I withheld opinion at first
O'MALLEY [to CLINTON]: Secretary Clinton's campaign put out a lot of reversals on positions on Keystone and many other things.CLINTON: Well, you know, everybody on this stage has changed a position or two. If you are learning, you're going to change
your position. I never took a position on Keystone until I took a position on Keystone. But I have been on the forefront of dealing with climate change, starting in 2009,
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: 2015 CNN Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas
Hillary Clinton on Energy & Oil
: Oct 13, 2015
Chinese participation is essential to climate change
When we met in Copenhagen in 2009 and President Obama and I were hunting for the Chinese, going throughout this huge convention center, because we knew we had to get them to agree to something. Because there will be no effective efforts against climate
change unless China and India join with the rest of the world. There will be an international meeting at the end of this year, and we must get verifiable commitments to fight climate change from every country gathered there.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: 2015 CNN Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas
Lincoln Chafee on Jobs
: Oct 13, 2015
Rhode Island had 2nd best job growth under my watch
As governor, I came in at the depths of the recession and we turned my state around. Rhode Island had the biggest drop of the unemployment rate over my four budgets of all but one state. It happens to be Nevada, where we're having this debate.
As we look to the future, I want to address the income inequality, close the gap between the haves and the have-nots. I want to address climate change, a real threat to our planet. And I believe in prosperity through peace. I want to end these wars.
Click for Lincoln Chafee on other issues.
Source: 2015 CNN Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas
Bernie Sanders on Energy & Oil
: Oct 11, 2015
Opposed Keystone Pipeline from day one
I believe that climate change is the great global crisis that we face, environmental crisis. From day one, I opposed the Keystone Pipeline because
I believe that if you're serious about climate change, you don't encourage the excavation and transportation of very dirty oil. That was my view from day one.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Meet the Press 2015 interview moderated by Chuck Todd
Donald Trump on Health Care
: Sep 22, 2015
Ebola virus in America is Obama's fault
Trump could bypass the gatekeepers in the press to reach people directly with his messages. Trump said he did own writing online, and given the wide range of tones in his comments, this seemed true. A devoted tweeter, his online statements address
everything from a doctor in New York with the Ebola virus--"Obama's fault"--to the notion that the Big Apple could actually benefit from global warming, if the phenomenon is real, because it suffers from uncomfortable cold snaps in the winter.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Never Enough, by Michael D`Antonio, p.331
Bernie Sanders on Energy & Oil
: Sep 5, 2015
Combat climate skeptics with overwhelming evidence
Bernie has spent hundreds of hours vigorously debating and combating climate skeptic politicians. He has long been unsettled over some of his colleagues' responses to overwhelming scientific evidence and approaches to policies combating global warming
through greenhouse gas emission reductions. He strongly believes the influence of lobbying is to blame for much of the climate change skepticism.Bernie has repeatedly called climate skeptics out on their rejection of science. For example, during a
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in July 2014, Bernie said: "We have a major political party which is rejecting what the majority of the scientific community is saying."
It's no secret that large energy corporations fund scientists who
work towards emphasizing the complexity of the knowledge surrounding climate change and its contribution to greenhouse-gas emissions. They also donate a lot of money to politicians. Bernie refuses to take money from any corporate donors.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: 2016 grassroots campaign website FeelTheBern.org, "Issues"
Bernie Sanders on Energy & Oil
: Sep 5, 2015
Keystone pipeline transports the dirtiest fossil fuel
In 2015, through a "sense of congress" amendment on the early 2015 Keystone XL pipeline bill, Bernie forced fellow senators to state for the congressional record if they believe "that climate change is real, human-caused, and already creating devastating
problems; that there's a brief window to act before 'irreparable harm' results; and that the United States should shift to cleaner energy sources."Bernie was a congressional leader in opposing the Keystone XL pipeline in 2014 and recently applauded
president Obama's veto promise on the measure.
Bernie said about other 2016 presidential candidates' environmental policies: "It is hard for me to understand how one can be concerned about climate change but not vigorously oppose the Keystone pipeline.
We must make significant reduction in carbon emissions and break our dependency on fossil fuels. That is why I have helped lead the fight in the Senate against the Keystone pipeline, which would transport some of the dirtiest fossil fuel in the world."
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: 2016 grassroots campaign website FeelTheBern.org, "Issues"
Bernie Sanders on Corporations
: Aug 30, 2015
Wall Street business model is a fraud & led us to recession
Q: You said that the same old, same old cannot win.SANDERS: People do not understand why the middle class of this country is collapsing at the same time as almost all of the new income and wealth is going to the top 1%. People do not like the idea
that, as a result of Citizens United, our campaign finance system has become corrupt and politicians are dependent upon super PACs and billionaires for money. People want us to deal with climate change, make college affordable.
Those are the issues I have been talking about.
Q: You also talk about taking on the billionaire class. Give us some specifics.
SANDERS: I think that the business model of Wall Street is fraud. And I think these guys drove us into the worst economic
downturn into the modern history of America. I think they're at it again. I believe that, when you have so few banks with so much power, you have to not only reestablish Glass-Steagall, but you have got to break them up.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: CNN SOTU 2015 interview series: 2016 presidential hopefuls
Kamala Harris on Energy & Oil
: Aug 27, 2015
Innovate smart solutions to climate change
Harris released the following statement on SB 350, the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act, and SB 32, Climate Pollution Reduction Beyond 2020:"Millions of Californians enjoy cleaner air and water because of our state's efforts to improve our
environment. SB 350 and SB 32 build on this legacy by setting aggressive but achievable clean energy goals. These bills will ensure California continues to innovate smart solutions to climate change while growing our economy and improving public health."
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: Imperial Valley News on 2016 California Senate race
Donald Trump on Energy & Oil
: Jun 28, 2015
Maybe some climate change is manmade, but not all
Q: The overwhelming majority of scientists say climate change is real and it's manmade. A: Well, there could be some manmade, too. I mean, I'm not saying there's zero, but not nearly to the extent [others say]. When Obama gets up and said it's
the number one problem of our country--and, if it is, why is it that we have to clean up our factories now, and China doesn't have to do it for another 30 or 35 years in their wonderful agreement, you know, our wonderful negotiators?
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: CNN SOTU 2015 interview series: 2016 presidential hopefuls
Mike Pence on Energy & Oil
: Jun 24, 2015
Against Obama's plan to battle climate change
Indiana will not comply with President Barack Obama's plan to battle climate change by requiring reductions in emissions from coal-fired power plants, Republican Gov. Mike Pence said Wednesday.
The proposal as currently written, known as the Clean Power Plan, will make Indiana electricity more expensive and less reliable and hurt economic growth in Indiana and across the nation, Pence wrote in a letter to Obama.
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Source: Orange County Register on 2016 Indiana Governor race
Donald Trump on Energy & Oil
: Jun 16, 2015
Climate change is a hoax
What does Donald Trump believe? Climate Change: It is a hoax.Trump does not believe climate change is real, tweeting out his skepticism with strong language and calling it a hoax on Fox News in 2014. In a 2012 Twitter post which is no longer
accessible, Trump charged that the concept of climate change was created by the Chinese to suppress the U.S. economy. In addition, Trump has expressed firm opposition to wind turbines, which he sees as an environmental and aesthetic problem.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: PBS News Hour "2016 Candidate Stands" series
Bernie Sanders on Energy & Oil
: Apr 30, 2015
Charge companies for carbon emissions; then fund renewables
On climate change: Charge companies for carbon emissions.Considered to be a "climate change hawk," Sanders argues that shifting global temperatures are a significant threat and caused by human activity.
He has sponsored a bill which would charge companies for their carbon emissions and use some of the money raised to boost renewable energy technology.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: PBS News Hour "2016 Candidate Stands" series
Bernie Sanders on Energy & Oil
: Mar 21, 2015
Transform to sustainable system & away from fossil fuels
The US must lead the world in tackling climate change and make certain that this planet is habitable for our children and grandchildren. We must transform our energy system away from fossil fuels and into energy efficiency and sustainable energies.
Millions of homes and buildings need to be weatherized, our transportation system needs to be energy efficient and we need to greatly accelerate the progress we are already seeing in wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and other forms of sustainable energy.
Transforming our energy system will not only protect the environment, it will create good paying jobs.Unless we take bold action to address climate change, our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are going to look back on this period
in history and ask a very simple question: Where were they? Why didn't the US lead the international community in cutting greenhouse gas emissions and preventing the devastating damage that the scientific community was sure would come?
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: 2016 presidential campaign website, BernieSanders.com
Tom Steyer on Energy & Oil
: Feb 27, 2015
CPAC panel discussion: "What Tom Steyer Won't Tell You"
Tom Steyer didn't get a lot for his money in the 2014 midterms, but the $67 million he spent last year did win him a title previously held by Al Gore: The Most Hated Environmentalist in Conservative America.For proof, consider this year's Conservative
Political Action Conference (CPAC) at Maryland's National Harbor: An entire panel was devoted to "What Tom Steyer Won't Tell You" about climate change.
Murray Energy claimed that "Tom Steyer, Al Gore and their ilk fabricate about global warming and
now climate change."
"Tom Steyer is a billionaire based in California," the Institute for Liberty said. "He argues for greater regulation on his competitors and forces to get subsidies for his green energy boondoggles."
Meanwhile, no one seemed too
concerned with how Murray Energy stands to benefit economically from fighting climate change regulations. They were too busy demonizing Steyer--literally. One fifth-year CPAC attendee told me after the panel, "Tom Steyer is the devil."
Click for Tom Steyer on other issues.
Source: The New Republic on 2015 Conservative Political Action Conf.
Barack Obama on Energy & Oil
: Jan 20, 2015
14 warmest years on record occurred in last 15 years
No challenge poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change. 2014 was the planet's warmest year on record. Now, one year doesn't make a trend, but this does--14 of the 15 warmest years on record have all fallen in the first 15 years of
this century.I've heard some folks try to dodge the evidence by saying they're not scientists; that we don't have enough information to act. Well, I'm not a scientist, either. But you know what--I know a lot of really good scientists at NASA, and
NOAA, and at our major universities. The best scientists in the world are all telling us that our activities are changing the climate, and if we do not act forcefully, we'll continue to see rising oceans, longer, hotter heat waves, dangerous droughts
and floods, and massive disruptions that can trigger greater migration, conflict, and hunger around the globe. The Pentagon says that climate change poses immediate risks to our national security. We should act like it.
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Source: 2015 State of the Union address
Barack Obama on Energy & Oil
: Jan 20, 2015
China has agreed with US; rest of world will now follow
Over the past six years, we've done more than ever before to combat climate change, from the way we produce energy, to the way we use it. That's why we've set aside more public lands and waters than any administration in history. And that's why
I will not let this Congress endanger the health of our children by turning back the clock on our efforts. I am determined to make sure American leadership drives international action. In Beijing, we made an historic announcement--the
United States will double the pace at which we cut carbon pollution, and China committed, for the first time, to limiting their emissions. And because the world's two largest economies came together, other
nations are now stepping up, and offering hope that, this year, the world will finally reach an agreement to protect the one planet we've got.
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Source: 2015 State of the Union address
Bernie Sanders on Budget & Economy
: Jan 15, 2015
Comprehensive 12-step agenda for moving America forward
Agenda for America: 12 Steps Forward- Rebuilding Our Crumbling Infrastructure
- Reversing Climate Change
- Creating Worker Co-ops
- Growing the Trade Union Movement
- Raising the Minimum Wage
- Pay Equity for Women Workers
-
Trade Policies that Benefit American Workers
- Making College Affordable for All
- Taking on Wall Street
- Health Care as a Right for All
- Protecting the Most Vulnerable Americans
- Real Tax Reform
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Source: 12 Steps Forward, by Sen. Bernie Sanders
Bernie Sanders on Energy & Oil
: Jan 15, 2015
Weatherize millions of homes and buildings
Reversing Climate Change:
The US must lead the world in reversing climate change and make certain that this planet is habitable for our children and grandchildren.
We must transform our energy system away from fossil fuels and into energy efficiency and sustainable energies.
Millions of homes and buildings need to be weatherized, our transportation system needs to be energy efficient and we need to greatly accelerate the progress we are already seeing in wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and other forms of sustainable energy.
Transforming our energy system will not only protect the environment, it will create good paying jobs.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: 12 Steps Forward, by Sen. Bernie Sanders
Seth Moulton on Energy & Oil
: Sep 1, 2014
Firm leadership to lessen greenhouse gas emissions
Congress needs firm leadership to lessen GHG emissions & to hold private companies accountable for environmental degradation while still encouraging economic growth. With the proper structures & incentives, businesses should be advocates for environmenta
stewardship and innovation, not opponents.Climate change is the most important global issue we face today. It is Congress' job to ensure that the US is taking an active role in advancing a strong agenda to mitigate climate change and its effects.
Click for Seth Moulton on other issues.
Source: 2014 House campaign website, SethMoulton.com
Hillary Clinton on Energy & Oil
: Jun 10, 2014
$100B per year by 2020 for climate change mitigation
[At a climate change summit, I said] the US was prepared to lead a collective effort by developed countries to mobilize $100 billion annually by 2020 from a combination of public and private sources to help the most vulnerable nations mitigate the damage
from climate change--if we could also reach a broad agreement on limiting emissions.By offering a concrete commitment, I hoped to breathe new life into the talks, put pressure on China and the other "emerging emitters" to respond, and win support
from developing countries.
In the end, the leaders fashioned a deal that, while far from perfect, put us on the road to future progress. For the first time all major economies, developed and developing alike, agreed to make national commitments to curb
carbon emissions through 2020 and report transparently on their mitigation efforts. The world began moving away from the division between developed and developing countries that had defined the Kyoto agreement. This was a foundation to build on.
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Source: Hard Choices, by Hillary Clinton, p.498-500
Hillary Clinton on Energy & Oil
: Jun 10, 2014
The steady march of climate change is obvious in the Arctic
In 2005, I joined Senator McCain, Lindsey Graham and Susan Collins for a trip to Alaska. We met with scientists, local leaders, and First Nations elders to hear from them about the effects of climate change. Flying over the vast coniferous forests of the
Yukon, I could see huge brown swaths of dead spruce trees, killed off by the infestations of bark beetles that had moved north because of warmer temperatures. Those dead trees became kindling for forest fires that were happening more frequently.
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Source: Hard Choices, by Hillary Clinton, p.502
Hillary Clinton on Foreign Policy
: Jun 10, 2014
Balance American interests between China & Korea
I decided to use my first trip as Secretary to accomplish three goals: visit our key Asian allies, Japan and South Korea; reach out to Indonesia; an emerging regional power and the home of ASEAN; and begin our crucial engagement with China.
We talked about how to balance America's interests in Asia, which sometimes seemed in competition. For example, how hard could we push the Chinese on human rights or climate change and still gain their support on security issues like Iran and North Korea
Q [to Gov. O'Malley]: How many Syrian refugees should the US take in?
O'MALLEY: I was the first person on this stage to say that we should accept the 65,000 Syrian refugees that were fleeing the sort of murder of ISIL, and I believe that that needs to
be done with proper screening.
Q: Secretary Clinton, how do you propose we screen those coming in to keep citizens safe?
CLINTON: I think that is the number one requirement. I also said that we should take increased numbers of refugees.
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Source: Link
Cory Booker on Energy & Oil
: Jun 3, 2014
Rejoin Greenhouse Gas Initiative under Clean Power Plan
Today's EPA announcement [to curb carbon emissions] represents a major step forward in our national effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change. We must be aggressive in our pursuit of reducing our carbon footprint. The [Clean
Power Plan] is a common sense proposal that will empower states to do their part and contribute to the national goal of curbing emissions from power plants.I am also encouraged by the flexibility the administration's plan provides for each
state to decide exactly how they will achieve our national goal to reduce emissions from power plants by 30 percent by 2030. In light of today's announcement, New Jersey should consider rejoining the successful Regional Greenhouse
Gas Initiative, which would allow us to reduce and offset our carbon emissions by making investments in clean energy. I am confident that New Jersey will achieve the goals presented today and remain a national leader in clean energy production.
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Source: 2014 Press Release from Senate office booker.senate.gov
Barack Obama on Energy & Oil
: Jan 29, 2014
FactCheck: Yes, US reduced CO2 tonnage, but that's only 6%
Obama rehashed a boast first made in a major speech on climate change last summer, that "the United States has reduced our total carbon pollution more than any other nation on Earth." That's accurate in terms of the sheer tonnage of emissions reduced.
But dozens of nations have reduced their carbon dioxide emissions by a larger percentage than the US.The US emitted 5,491 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2011. That's 362 million metric tons fewer than what was emitted in the US in 2003.
But some perspective is in order. The US improvement results are different when the reduction amount is measured by the percentage change. By that measure, dozens of countries fared better than the US, which reduced its emissions by 6.2%, including
Also noteworthy, the EIA credited most of the U.S. reduction in carbon pollution to slower economic growth, weather, higher gasoline prices and an increasing shift from coal to natural gas--not necessarily the government's energy policy, as claimed by Ob
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Source: FactCheck.org on 2014 State of the Union address
Barack Obama on Energy & Oil
: Jan 28, 2014
Natural gas is a "bridge fuel"; then go solar
One of the biggest factors in bringing more jobs back is our commitment to American energy. The all-of-the-above energy strategy I announced a few years ago is working, and today, America is closer to energy independence than we've been in decades.
One of the reasons why is natural gas--if extracted safely, it's the bridge fuel that can power our economy with less of the carbon pollution that causes climate change.
It's not just oil and natural gas production that's booming; we're becoming a global leader in solar, too. Every four minutes, another American home or business goes solar; every panel pounded into place by a worker whose job can't be outsourced.
Let's continue that progress with a smarter tax policy that stops giving $4 billion a year to fossil fuel industries that don't need it, so that we can invest more in fuels of the future that do.
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Source: 2014 State of the Union address
Deval Patrick on Energy & Oil
: Jan 15, 2014
$50 million to help Massachusetts deal with climate change
Patrick took the wraps off a $50 million plan that he says will help prepare Massachusetts for the challenges posed by climate change. The initiatives include a $40 million grant program by the Department of Energy Resources to help cities and towns to
shore up protections around energy services. Another $10 million will be spent on critical coastal infrastructure and dam repair. That includes $1 million for "green infrastructure" projects like beach and dune enhancement.
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Source: Reason magazine on 2014 Massachusetts Gubernatorial race
Cory Booker on Energy & Oil
: Nov 3, 2013
Eliminate unfair subsidies for oil and ga
As your Senator, I will work tirelessly to ensure that the United States is a world leader in the green economy, and that we address global warming before it is too late. My priorities will include:-
Fighting to eliminate unfair and unnecessary subsidies for the oil and gas industry that put the United States at a disadvantage in the race to develop green technology;
- Opposing drilling in the waters off of the Jersey Shore;
-
Working to support comprehensive climate change legislation that incentivizes the creation of green jobs and significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
A healthy environment is in everyone's interest; Democrats, Republicans, and Independents
all breathe the same air. As Mayor I brought people together--from business, government and the community--to address local and regional environmental concerns, and will carry the same approach with me to Washington to tackle our federal challenges.
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Source: 2013-2014 New Jersey Senate campaign web CoryBooker.com
Bill de Blasio on Environment
: Oct 22, 2013
Increase bicycling to 6% of all NYC trips by 2020
Bicycling has become a mainstream way for many New Yorkers to commute to work and travel around the city. It's inexpensive, it promotes public health, and it's a key part of helping the city respond to climate change. Right now, the city's goal is
to increase bicycling to 3 percent of all trips by 2020.Bill de Blasio will double that goal--using education, promotion and safer streets to grow bicycling to 6 percent by 2020. De Blasio will continue expanding bike lanes around the city so that
bicyclists have a safe, dedicated space to ride. He will expand the public Bike Share program to outer-borough neighborhoods and increase education outreach to promote safe riding. With these tools, de Blasio will set a goal of cutting serious cycling
injuries and fatalities in half--even as the number of cyclist continues to grow. By better communicating on the frontend, de Blasio will reduce friction and bolster public support for expanding cycling in the city
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Source: 2013 Mayoral campaign website, www.billdeblasio.com
Bernie Sanders on Immigration
: Oct 17, 2013
Climate change lays groundwork for mass migration
Scientists are not the only people warning us about the danger of climate change. Hear what the Department of Defense has to say about the impact of climate change on international and national security.
What they point out--and I think what every sensible person understands--is that when people are unable to grow the food they need because of drought, when flood destroys their homes,
when people throughout the world are forced to struggle for limited natural resources in order to survive,
this lays the groundwork for the migration of people and international conflict. That is what the Department of Defense tells us.
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Source: The Essential Bernie Sanders, by Jonathan Tasini, p. 35
Joe Biden on Energy & Oil
: May 9, 2013
Pushed cap-and-trade early; but $90B tax credits passed
Q: Why doesn't the Obama administration use the bully pulpit to talk about climate change like it does for gun control?A: We have. In his inaugural address, the president said, "We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure
to do so would betray our children and future generations." In the very beginning, we decided that we had to move on this. And we thought, cap-and-trade. But it got shut down, even when we had a Democratic Congress. So from that point on, the president
has been trying to figure out how he can use his executive authority to make some real changes.
Q: Despite the congressional opposition, do you feel the Obama administration has made inroads in the climate fight?
A: The thing I'm proudest of that we
were able to get done in the first term was the Recovery Act. It had $90 billion in clean-energy programs. We had a lot of money going into research and development, and also tax credits for wind and solar energy.
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Source: Douglas Brinkley in Rolling Stone Magazine
Tom Steyer on Energy & Oil
: Apr 9, 2013
Fought gutting state greenhouse gas reduction law
Steyer jumped into politics in a big way by funding a campaign against California Proposition 23. Had it passed, that ballot initiative would have gutted the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, California's greenhouse gas reduction plan.
Steyer told a Forbes reporter he "got pissed" that no one was "stepping up" to fight back, so he dropped a couple million to advertise against the out of state oil lobby. In the end Steyer's money helped. Prop 23 was defeated.
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Source: Counterpunch magazine on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Barack Obama on Energy & Oil
: Feb 12, 2013
Bipartisan market-based solution to climate change
I urge this Congress to pursue a bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change, like the one John McCain and Joe Lieberman worked on together a few years ago. But if Congress won't act soon to protect future generations, I will.
I will direct my Cabinet to come up with executive actions we can take, now and in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for the consequences of climate change, and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy.
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Source: 2013 State of the Union Address
Joe Biden on Energy & Oil
: Feb 4, 2013
Set out vision for young people to deal with global warming
I was impressed in the discussion [French President Hollande and I] had relative to climate change. The President pointed out that there is an obligation here that extends way beyond these administrations.
There is a need to set out a vision for the young people in both our countries that we understand. It's a rallying cry that can be a call for a united effort and support in both our countries to deal with global warming.
President Obama is committed to do that. And he is going to have an interlocutor in John Kerry. There is no one in my country who has been, over the period of time he's been in the
Senate, more concerned with or knowledgeable about the issues relating to global warming.
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Source: Press Conference with V.P. Biden & French President Hollande
John Hickenlooper on Energy & Oil
: Jan 10, 2013
Colorado Energy Office: efficiency and renewables
Colorado Energy Office: efficiency and renewables
Many scientists believe that our severe drought, the bark beetle epidemic and the terrible fire season are further evidence of climate change. While no state can address the issue in isolation, reducing pollutants and promoting sustainable development,
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Source: 2013 Colorado State of the State address
Beto O`Rourke on Energy & Oil
: Nov 6, 2012
Tackle climate change: reduce greenhouse gas emissions
I believe that in tackling climate change and the greatest environmental threat we have ever faced, we need to take unprecedented action in building a foundation for a clean energy economy.
Harmful emissions that contribute to climate change also pollute our air and water. Climate change threatens our food supply, our security and the complex ecosystem that sustains humanity.
I will work with other members of the House of Representatives, the Senate and our President in helping our country put together a plan that will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the point where they match levels that can be absorbed by
Earth's ecosystems. Educating our fellow Americans about this threat to our quality of life is important to our success, and I will do all I can to make this issue a top priority in Congress.
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Source: 2012 House campaign website, betoforcongress.com, "Issues"
John Delaney on Energy & Oil
: Nov 6, 2012
Institute a revenue-neutral national carbon tax
To preserve our environment for future generations, we need to address our dependence on the fossil fuels that are contributing to climate change.
Instituting a national carbon tax is one way to create certainty for the markets and guidelines for industry that will help foster investment, research, and development for a clean energy economy.
According to a 2008 study by the Congressional Budget Office, such a tax would be the most efficient incentive-based option for reducing emissions and could be relatively simple to implement.
A revenue-neutral plan will also protect families from increased energy costs.
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Source: 2012 House campaign website, delaney2012.com, "Issues"
Barack Obama on Energy & Oil
: Sep 4, 2012
First-ever carbon pollution limits for new oil & coal plants
Q: What is your position on cap-and-trade, carbon taxes, and other policies proposed to address global climate change--and what steps can we take to improve our ability to tackle challenges like climate change that cross national boundaries?A:
Climate change is the one of the biggest issues of this generation, and we have to meet this challenge by driving smart policies that lead to greater growth in clean energy generation and result in a range of economic and social benefits.
Since taking office I have established historic standards limiting greenhouse gas emissions from our vehicles for the first time in history. My administration has made unprecedented investments in clean energy, proposed the first-ever carbon pollution
limits for new fossil-fuel-fired power plants & reduced carbon emissions within the Federal Government. Since I took office, the US is importing an average of 3 million fewer barrels of oil every day, & our dependence on foreign oil is at a 20-year low.
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Source: The Top American Science Questions, by sciencedebate.org
Howard Schultz on Environment
: Mar 27, 2012
Human deforestation contributes more carbon than all cars
In 2008, I [held meetings to] firm up our flatlining relationships with Conservation International. Conservation International's people explained their most pressing concern: climate change. They pointed to endangered areas that are home to
irreplaceable plant and animal life. These ecosystems are at risk for destruction by human deforestation, also burning and clearing of forest's contributes 20% of the world's carbon emissions--twice as much as ALL the world's vehicles combined. These
hotspots are in areas where farmers grow some of Starbucks' most precious coffees. Starbucks would re-up its partnership with Conservation International with a $7.5 million commitment over three years. We would measure the impact of our CAFE.
Practices to ensure that we were making a positive difference for the people and places we intended. We would link small farmers to global carbon markets. And we would stand shoulder to shoulder with Conservation International.
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Source: Onward, by Howard Schultz, p.119-20
Barack Obama on Energy & Oil
: Feb 28, 2012
2009: Spark a clean energy transformation
On Friday, June 26, 2009, Democrats made history. For the 1st time, a cap and trade bill--sponsored by Representatives Henry Waxman and Ed Markey--passed in the House of Representatives. Notably absent in Obama's ringing endorsement of the bill was
any mention of global warming or climate change--or cap and trade for that matter:"This week, the House of Representatives is moving ahead on historic legislation that will transform the way we produce and use energy in America.
This legislation will spark a clean energy transformation that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil and confront the carbon pollution that threatens our planet.
This energy bill will create a set of initiatives that will spur the development
of new sources of energy, including wind, solar, and geothermal power. It will also spur new energy savings, like efficient windows and other materials that reduce heating costs in the winter and cooling costs in the summer."
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Source: The Greatest Hoax, by James Inhofe, p.109
Barack Obama on Government Reform
: Feb 28, 2012
OpEd: Achieve via regulation what was blocked in legislation
Even though global warming hysteria and cap and trade are long dead, the fight is far from over because President Obama is now moving forward with a plan to achieve through regulation what could not be achieved through legislation. In December of 2009,
the Obama EPA issued what it called the "endangerment finding"--a finding that greenhouse gases harm public health and welfare.
Armed with this "finding" the EPA is planning to regulate greenhouse gases instead through the Clean Air Act, which was never meant to regulate carbon. Like cap and trade, this plan will have the same $300-$400 billion pricetag, it will put
the same amount of jobs in jeopardy, and it will cause the same amount of havoc for our economy. My fight today is to stop them from achieving this cap and trade agenda through the back door.
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Source: The Greatest Hoax, by James Inhofe, p. ix
Deval Patrick on Energy & Oil
: Apr 12, 2011
At Texaco: stop arguing about climate change & seek solution
I'd like to think that my commitment to social justice remained consistent even when I wasn't in the public sector. When I became a corporate executive,
I tried to maintain a personal pledge to do good.I worked to make Texaco the first major oil company to stop arguing about the science of climate change and to join those in search of solutions.
At Coca Cola, I learned that I need not and would not leave my conscience at the door for any job. Most of the people I worked with shared those values.
Social justice was never far from my mission, even in those corporate settings. I know we made the workplace in both companies more fair and transparent.
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Source: A Reason to Believe, by Gov. Deval Patrick, p.161-163
Jesse Ventura on Energy & Oil
: Apr 4, 2011
Military agrees: climate change represents a serious threat
Back in 2006, the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA), a federally funded R&D center for the Navy and Marine Corps, brought together a Military Advisory Board of eleven retired three-star and four-star admirals and generals.
Their task was to examine the impact of global climate change for future national security. The report came out in April 2007. Its conclusion is that climate represents "a serious threat" that is likely to create "instability in some of the most
volatile regions of the world." I find it very chilling that the U.S. military would recognize this situation and begin preparations for us how to deal with it, when many
of our elected officials are still prepared to think climate change is some kind of hoax! We're like the proverbial ostrich with its head buried in the sand.
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Source: 63 Documents, by Gov. Jesse Ventura, p.157
Joe Sestak on Energy & Oil
: Jun 14, 2010
Global warming is principally man-made; regulate CO2
The candidates differ on the core issue of global warming, and whether climate legislation would do anything to alleviate it. Toomey acknowledges that global warming exists but he is an agnostic on the crucial question of whether it is a product of
human activity. "There's no question that the Earth's surface temperature has increased," he said in a statement. "There is much debate in the scientific community as to the precise sources of global warming."
Sestak said global warming is principally
man-made, citing a series of scientific findings on the matter. "I know Congressman Toomey is quite extreme, quite radical, but the vast majority of the mainstream says yes, it is man-made," he said.
In keeping with those positions, the opponents split
this week on a closely watched Senate bill, sponsored by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, that would have stripped the EPA of the ability to regulate carbon dioxide emissions. Sestak's campaign said he would have opposed the measure. Toomey supported the bill.
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Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette coverage of 2010 PA Senate Debates
Barack Obama on Technology
: May 18, 2010
Network clean energy transmission lines like highway network
Obama offered the climate change czarina billions more in the stimulus for construction of the so-called smart grid. Obama agreed with Al Gore that boosting clean energy wouldn't mean much without building a new network of modern national transmission
lines for electricity. The real goal, he thought, should be to make the grid akin to the Interstate Highway system in the 1950s or the Internet in the 1990s: a prime engine of growth for the economy. He liked to talk about thousands of miles of
transmission lines and 40 million "smart meters" across the country.But reality soon intruded. The NIMBY ("not in my backyard") problem afflicted the smart-grid debate. The regulatory hurdles to modernizing the grid were beyond belief; it turned
out that no fewer than 31 different state and local regulators had to sign off on modernization. Obama was appalled. "We went to the moon!" he said. "We can do better than this! Go back and talk to more people."
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Source: The Promise: Obama Year One, by Jonathan Alter, p. 89
Barack Obama on Environment
: May 17, 2010
Greenhouse gases declared dangerous to public health
As the UN's annual climate change conference began in Copenhagen on December 7, 2009, Obama's EPA chief, Lisa Jackson, announced the EPA now considers six greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and methane, dangerous to the environment and public
health, and that the EPA would begin drawing up new regulations to arbitrarily reduce them.The announcement deliberately coincided with the climate change conference, which aims to establish an international treaty to reduce greenhouse emissions.
Of course, the president cannot implement a treaty by himself; he needs the approval of two-thirds of the U.S. Senate. So the EPA's announcement was actually a threat to circumvent the Senate's constitutional prerogatives. Obama was indicating he would
commit the United States to carbon-cutting goals reached at Copenhagen, and if the Senate refused to approve a carbon-cutting treaty or to pass capo and trade, Obama would simply use the EPA to regulate carbon whether the Senate likes it or not.
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Source: To Save America, by Newt Gingrich, p. 81
Joe Sestak on Energy & Oil
: Dec 25, 2009
Reduce greenhouse emissions & stop global warming
Our global environment is at a tipping point; we must reduce greenhouse emissions, stop global warming now, and end our nation's dependence on foreign oil and our often careless disregard for precious natural resources.
We need a comprehensive strategy with innovative solutions to our energy and environmental crisis that protects our air, water and land.
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Source: 2010 Senate campaign website, www.joesestak.com, "Issues"
Barack Obama on Energy & Oil
: Nov 30, 2009
Cap-and-trade: lower CO2 levels by fees on carbon emissions
Obama's solution to climate change is an ambitious new regulatory scheme called "cap-and-trade."The point of cap-and-trade is to lower the earth's CO2 levels by forcing people to pay to produce or emit carbon. A carbon tax would be the most
straightforward way to achieve this, but industry lobbyists and most politicians, including Barack Obama and John McCain, favor cap-and-trade., We can guess a few of the reasons.
First, cap-and-trade is not called a "tax," which makes
it easier to sell, even though it functions much like a tax. Probably more important--cap-and-trade necessarily involves more political tinkering and more lobbying.
Cap-and-trade requires an emitter to pay for his emissions with special permits.
The government would dictate how many permits are in circulation.
But this basic groundwork leaves many questions--and corporate lobbyists are eager to help Congress and the Obama administration answer them.
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Source: Obamanomics, by Timothy P. Carney, p.105-106
Barack Obama on Energy & Oil
: Sep 22, 2009
History will pass judgment on our response to climate change
Recently, I acknowledged 2 positive actions: his attempt to make health care available to the 47 million Americans who don't have access to it, and his concern about climate change. The views of many heads of state on the ignored and neglected issue of
climate change are still unknown. As the representative of the country hosting the UN high-level meeting on the issue, Obama was the 1st to express his opinion. What did he say? I will refer to the substance of his remarks:- History will pass
judgment on the response to this environmental challenge.
- There is no nation, big or small, that can avoid the impact of climate change.
- There is a daily increase of the high tides lashing against the coastlines while more intensive storms and
floods are threatening our continents.
- The security & stability of every nation are in danger.
- The developed nations have caused most of the damage & should thus take responsibility for it.
- We know the future depends on a global commitment.
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Source: Obama and the Empire, by Fidel Castro, p. 91-2
Joe Biden on Energy & Oil
: Oct 2, 2008
Obama believes in investing in alternative energy
BIDEN: We have 3 percent of the world’s oil reserves. We consume 25% of the oil. John has voted 20 times in the last decade-and-a-half against funding alternative energy sources, clean energy sources, wind, solar, biofuels. Obama believes by
investing in clean coal and safe nuclear, we can not only create jobs in wind and solar here, we can export it.PALIN: I was the first governor to form a climate change sub-cabinet to start dealing with the impacts. We’ve got to reduce emissions. John
McCain is right there with an “all of the above” approach to deal with climate change impacts. As we rely more on other countries that don’t care as much about the climate as we do, we’re allowing them to produce and to emit and even pollute more than
America would ever stand for. It’s all the more reason that we have an “all of the above” approach, tapping into alternative sources of energy and conserving fuel, conserving our petroleum products and our hydrocarbons so that we can clean up this planet
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Source: 2008 Vice Presidential debate against Sarah Palin
Joe Biden on Energy & Oil
: Oct 2, 2008
Cause of global warming is clearly Man-made
Q: What is true and what is false about what we have heard about the causes of climate change?PALIN: As governor of the nation’s only Arctic state, Alaska feels & sees impacts of climate change more so than any other state. And we know that it’s real.
I’m not one to attribute every activity of man to the changes in the climate. There is something to be said also for man’s activities, but also for the cyclical temperature changes on our planet. But there are real changes going on in our climate.
And I don’t want to argue about the causes. What I want to argue about is, how are we going to get there to positively affect the impacts?
BIDEN: Well, I think it is manmade. I think it’s clearly manmade.
If you don’t understand what the cause is, it’s virtually impossible to come up with a solution. We know what the cause is. The cause is manmade. That’s the cause. That’s why the polar icecap is melting.
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Source: 2008 Vice Presidential debate against Gov. Sarah Palin
Joe Biden on Foreign Policy
: Aug 27, 2008
The US is less secure and more isolated in recent history
Our country is less secure and more isolated that it has been any time it has in recent history. The Bush foreign policy has dug us into a very deep hole, with very few friends to help us climb out. For the last seven years, the administration has failed
to face the biggest forces shaping this century. The emergence of Russia, China and India’s great powers, the spread of lethal weapons, the shortage of secure supplies of energy, food and water. The challenge of climate change and the resurgence of
fundamentalism in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the real central front in the war on terror. We once again see the consequences of the neglect of Russia challenging the very freedom of a new democratic country of Georgia. Barack and I will end that neglect.
We will hold Russia accountable for its action and we will help Georgia rebuild. I have been on the ground in Georgia, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and I can tell you in no uncertain terms, this administration’s policy has been an abysmal failure.
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Source: Speech at 2008 Democratic National Convention
Barack Obama on Energy & Oil
: May 4, 2008
Figure out how to sequester carbon and burn clean coal
Q: In terms of global warming, you’ve talked about wind and solar and biofuels. What about nuclear? A: I think we do have to look at nuclear, and what we’ve got to figure out is can we store the material properly? Can we make sure that they’re secure?
Can we deal with the expense? My attitude when it comes to energy is there’s no silver bullet. We’ve got to look at every possible option. You know, I’ve said the same thing about coal. I have a aggressive goal of reducing carbon emissions, and coal is a
dirty fuel right now. But if we can figure out how to sequester carbon and burn clean coal, we’re the Saudi Arabia of coal, and I don’t think that we can dismiss out of hand the use of coal as part of our energy mix. What we are going to have to
understand, though, is that global warming is real, it is serious and that whatever options we come up with, if they are not addressing the fact that the planet is getting warmer, then we are failing not just this generation, but future generations.
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Source: Meet the Press: 2008 “Meet the Candidates” series
Mike Gravel on Energy & Oil
: Apr 22, 2008
Institute a tax on oil
Gravel supports the following principles regarding energy:- Support international mandatory emission targets to limit global warming.
- Encourage further development and use of alternative fuels.
- When elected president, I would work with
Congress to enact a tax on oil to get Americans off carbon-based fuels.
- I would eliminate the income tax and replace it with a progressive fair tax, which would be set at 23%.
- Support the permanent repeal of the federal estate tax.
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Source: Presidential Election 2008 Political Courage Test
Hillary Clinton on Energy & Oil
: Apr 13, 2008
Cap-and-trade as president; compact fluorescents at home
Q: Can we address global poverty and climate change without changing our standard of living?A: I believe there is so much we can do that would not demonstrably undermine our standard of living, but it would give us the opportunity to set an example an
to be a model. There are simple steps any one of us can take--turning off lights when one leaves a room, unplugging appliances, changing to compact fluorescent bulbs--my husband and I have done that & we feel like we’re making a small contribution to
limiting the amount of greenhouse gas emissions. I hope that, as president, I can model that and lead that effort so that people don’t feel so threatened by the changes we’re talking about when it comes to dealing with global warming. And we can do more.
Now there’s so much that I have to do as president with the cap-and-trade system, with moving away from our dependence on foreign oil, but I’m going to look for ways that will cushion the costs on middle class and working and poor people.
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Source: 2008 Democratic Compassion Forum at Messiah College
Barack Obama on Environment
: Apr 13, 2008
Genesis teaches stewardship of earth: sacrifice for future
Q: Could you give an example of how you relate your faith to science policy?A: One of the things I draw from the Genesis story is the importance of us being good stewards of the land, of this incredible gift. And I think there have been times where we
haven’t been [good stewards], and this is one of those times where we’ve got to take the warning seriously [about climate change]. And part of what my religious faith teaches me is to take an intergenerational view, to recognize that we are borrowing this
planet from our children and our grandchildren. And this is where religious faith and the science of global warming converge: We have to find resources in ourselves to make sacrifices so we don’t leave it to the next generation. We’ve got to be less
wasteful, both as a society and in our own individual lives. I think religion can actually bolster our desire to make those sacrifices now. As president, I hope to rally the entire world around the importance of us being good stewards of the land.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2008 Democratic Compassion Forum at Messiah College
Mike Bloomberg on Energy & Oil
: Feb 11, 2008
Cities are taking the lead on climate change
Serious carbon targets will not hamper growth, and it will leave us all better off. If the US and the developing nations make such commitments, then the prospects for a new international global warming accord improve greatly. The world cannot wait for
2009. Global warming demands immediate action. The world’s great cities recognize that. Leaders in local governments around the globe are already moving aggressively and creatively to fight climate change.It’s why, even though our national government
has yet to approve the Kyoto Protocol, more than 700 cities in the US, representing more than 80 million Americans, have pledged to meet its goals. And it’s why, later this year, NYC will convene a 2-day conference of representatives from more than
20 major world cities. It will feature experts in such fields as transportation, city planning, public health; and it will address the challenges that the world’s cities share in reducing urban air pollution and curbing climate change.
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Source: Speech to the United Nations on tropical hardwoods
Mike Bloomberg on Energy & Oil
: Feb 11, 2008
US must set real and binding carbon reduction targets
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bali, which was my privilege to address, was an historic gathering. It set the stage for a global compact that advances the progress begun some 10 years ago at Kyoto.
However, between now and the Copenhagen Conference next year, we must establish, I think, the preconditions for such progress. Both developed and developing nations must recognize the need to alter their policies and make serious commitments to change.
And I believe that our experience in New York City, and the experience of many of the world’s other great cities, too, can help guide that process.
The first precondition for making the Copenhagen negotiations a success, I believe, is that the
US, which leads the world in greenhouse gas production, must finally set real and binding carbon reduction targets. And I believe the American people are prepared to accept our responsibility to lead by example.
Click for Mike Bloomberg on other issues.
Source: Speech to the United Nations on tropical hardwoods
Hillary Clinton on Environment
: Dec 13, 2007
Advocate a cap and trade system
I advocate a cap and trade system. What the auction of pollution permits is taking that money and invest in new technologies, new ways of getting to our objectives that I’ve outline inside my energy plan. I want to use some of it to cushion the costs tha
will come on to the US consumer. It’s not just enough to tackle global warming, we’ve got to enlist the help of the next generation. My fifth grade teacher said it was to study math and science, but it gave me an idea of contributing to my country.
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Source: 2007 Des Moines Register Democratic Debate
Hillary Clinton on Foreign Policy
: Dec 13, 2007
Establish leadership & moral authority via multilateralism
Q: When future historians write of your administration’s foreign policy pursuits, what will be noted as your doctrine and the vision you cast for U.S. diplomatic relations?A: It will be a doctrine of restoring
America’s leadership and moral authority through multilateral organizations, through attempts to come to agreements on issues ranging from global warming to stopping the proliferation of nuclear weapons and other dangerous weapons.
It will be a doctrine that demonstrates that the
United States is not afraid to cooperate; that through cooperation in our interdependent world, we actually can build a stronger country and a stronger world that will be more reflective of our values.
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Source: 2007 Des Moines Register Democratic debate
Barack Obama on Energy & Oil
: Dec 4, 2007
Aggressively address accelerating climate change
Q: What do you think the toughest choice you have left to make is? What haven’t you made up your mind on yet? And why haven’t you?A: The issue of climate change. I’ve put forward one of the most aggressive proposals out there,
but the science seems to be coming in indicating it’s accelerating even more quickly with every passing day. And by the time I take office, I think we’re going to have to have a serious conversation about how drastic steps we need to take to address it.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2007 Democratic radio debate on NPR
Joe Biden on Energy & Oil
: Nov 11, 2007
Supports cap-and-trade for greenhouse gases
On climate change Biden occupies what has become the conventional liberal middle-ground, supporting “a ‘cap-and-trade’ approach to regulating emissions
and investment in technologies” to reduce greenhouse gasses.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: The Contenders, by Laura Flanders, p.180
Mike Bloomberg on Energy & Oil
: Nov 2, 2007
While greenhouse gas pollution is free, it will be abundant
We have to stop ignoring the laws of economics. As long as greenhouse gas pollution is free, it will be abundant. If we want to reduce it, there has to be a cost for producing it. The voluntary targets suggested by Pres. Bush would be like voluntary
speed limits--doomed to fail. If we’re serious about climate change, the question is not whether we should put a value on greenhouse gas pollution, but how we should do it. [I prefer a direct charge over cap-and-trade].
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Source: Keynote Address to the US Conference of Mayors
Mike Bloomberg on Energy & Oil
: Nov 2, 2007
PlaNYC: convert 13,000 taxis to hybrids or high-efficiency
I think illegal guns and climate change are two of the best examples of cities leading where Washington has not. On both issues, those in Washington prefer talk to action. The Second Amendment [is used as] a political duck-and-cover that allows
legislators to escape responsibility for fixing a serious problem.On climate change, the duck-and-cover usually involves pointing the finger at others. It’s China-this & India-that. But wait a second. This is the United States of America. When there’s
a major challenge, we don’t wait for others to act. We lead. And we lead by example. That’s what all of us here are doing.
When we developed our long-term sustainability plan in NYC, which we call PlaNYC, we made no apologies for stealing the very best
ideas--and we came up with some of our own, including converting our 13,000 taxis to hybrids or high-efficiency vehicles. This will not only help clean our air and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it will save each driver about $4,500 a year in gas costs
Click for Mike Bloomberg on other issues.
Source: Keynote Address to the US Conference of Mayors
Mike Bloomberg on Energy & Oil
: Nov 2, 2007
Direct charge over cap-and-trade, to raise cost of carbon
If we’re serious about climate change, the question is not whether we should put a value on greenhouse gas pollution, but how we should do it. To raise the cost of carbon, we can take either an indirect approach--creating a cap-and-trade system of
pollution credits--or a direct approach: charging a fee for greenhouse gas pollutants.Cap-and-trade is an easier political sell because the costs are hidden--but they’re still there. There are also logistical issues:
The market for trading carbon credits will be much more difficult to police than the market for the sulfur dioxide credits that greatly reduced acid rain.
A direct charge would eliminate the uncertainty that companies would face in a cap-and-trade system. It would be easier to implement and enforce, it would prevent special interests from opening up loopholes, & it would create an opportunity to cut taxes.
Click for Mike Bloomberg on other issues.
Source: Keynote Address to the US Conference of Mayors
Hillary Clinton on Energy & Oil
: Sep 4, 2007
Led delegation, with McCain, to see effects of polar warming
Virtually the entire Senate voted for a resolution opposing the Kyoto Climate Change Treaty even before I could submit it for ratification.All that changed after 9/11 and the Iraqi War. With oil prices soaring and mounting evidence of the destructive
impacts of climate change, everyone began to take the issue more seriously. Sen. John McCain and Hillary led delegations of more skeptical senators to northern Norway and Alaska to see the already clear impact of warming for themselves.
Other countries proved that clean efficient energy use could be profitable. While the US government was condemning Kyoto as a threat to growth, the United Kingdom determined to beat its Kyoto reduction target by 25% to 50%, and in so doing created enough
good jobs to enjoy something we Americans didn't--rising wages and declining inequality. Germany is now the number one producer of wind energy, and Japan leads the world in the production and installation of solar panels.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: Giving, by Bill Clinton, p.154-155
Barack Obama on Foreign Policy
: Aug 26, 2007
Strengthen NATO to face 21st-century threats
Barack Obama will restore America’s leadership abroad, reform and enhance international organizations and strengthen our alliances.
He will strengthen NATO to face 21st-century threats, forge a new and lasting framework for collective security in Asia, and work with other countries around the world to combat global climate change.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2008 Presidential campaign website, BarackObama.com “Flyers”
Mike Gravel on Environment
: Jul 23, 2007
To get Americans to conserve, change the tax structure
Q: How do you get Americans to conserve?A: Very simple, change our tax structure. Have a fair tax where people are taxed on what they spend rather than what they earn. And our tax system is totally corrupt right now.
And so if we now have a retail sales tax, you’ll take this nation of ours from a consuming nation to a savings nation. And that’s the most significant thing we can do to alter climate change.
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Source: 2007 YouTube Democratic Primary debate, Charleston SC
Mike Bloomberg on Energy & Oil
: Jun 18, 2007
Reduce NYC carbon emissions by 30% by 2030
An increasing number of people on both sides of the aisle now recognize a major problem: global warming. The science is undeniable and more than any other issue, climate change highlights the need for long-term plans that begin tackling the causes of the
problem now. In New York, we’ve laid out our own detailed plans for reducing carbon emissions by 30% by 2030, investing in more clean energy sources and creating a truly sustainable 21st century city.
And we’re going to hold ourselves accountable for meeting interim goals.
Anybody can set goals for 2050 or 2070--but we’ll never reach them unless we start taking real action now. That’s what California and
New York are doing, along with many other cities and states. But the federal legislators, as usual, are way behind the curve--laughably setting goals for some far off time when they’ll all be dead and can’t be held accountable!
Click for Mike Bloomberg on other issues.
Source: Speech at “Ceasefire! Bridging The Political Divide” meeting
Hillary Clinton on Energy & Oil
: Jun 8, 2007
Extensive funding into alternative energy
At a Sept. 2005 global warming conference, Hillary told the audience there had been an “absence of leadership” by the Bush administration on climate change. She offered her own solution: “I would advocate a much more concerted effort on our government’s
part to fund an extensive research project into alternative forms of energy.”The next day there was a plenary session on global warming. The marquee attraction was Al Gore. Hillary and Gore had vied for
Bill’s attention during his presidency, and that rivalry had only intensified after the Clintons left the White House. Bill privately told confidants that he believed that if Hillary emerged as the likely Democratic presidential nominee,
Gore would enter as a left-of-Hillary alternative.
One month later, Hillary unveiled a comprehensive clean-energy plan, along the lines she had mentioned at the conference. She suffered the same fate as Gore: Nobody paid attention.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: Her Way, by Jeff Gerth & Don Van Natta, p.276-277
Joe Biden on Energy & Oil
: Apr 26, 2007
Make every automobile sold be a flex-fuel automobile
We have to make an equivalent of a Manhattan Project [on energy & climate change]. We have to fundamentally shift the way we do it. Barack and I have a bill to make sure that every automobile sold in the US is a flex-fuel automobile; every gas station in
America, by the year 2009, has to have 10% of it’s pumps pumping E85 ethanol. We also have legislation in requiring we invest
$100 million a year for the next couple of years in order to be able to find lithium battery technology to be able to power our cars.
We also have legislation talking about capping emissions. Cap them now; not wait.
Cap them where they are now. Time’s running out.
But you have to be willing to make multi-billion dollar investments over the next 10 years and set hard goals in order to be able to get to the point where we are no longer dependent.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: 2007 South Carolina Democratic primary debate, on MSNBC
Barack Obama on Principles & Values
: Feb 15, 2007
Replace partisan bickering with politics of hope
Obama called for universal health care, energy independence, an effective policy to stem global warming, and an end to loud and uncivil, Rush-Limbaugh-like public discourse. “We have come to be consumed by a
24-hour, slash-and-burn, negative-ad, bickering, small-minded politics that does not move us forward,” he said in
Portsmouth, aiming his critique at both Republicans and his own party as they glowered across a gaping, ever-widening partisan gulf. “Sometimes one side is up, and the other side is down.
But there is not sense that they are coming together in a common-sense, practical, nonideological way to solve the problems that we face.”
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Source: Hopes and Dreams, by Steve Dougherty, p. 17-18
Mike Gravel on Energy & Oil
: Dec 25, 2006
Make Global Warming a matter of national security
The Gravel Agenda: When elected President by the American people, I will:- Make Global Warming a matter of national security;
- Rebuild our gridlocked transportation system and our crumbling national infrastructure;
-
Launch and leading a massive global scientific effort to end energy dependence on oil and integrating the world’s scientific community to this task.
Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.
Source: 2008 Presidential campaign website, gravel2008.us, “Issues”
Barack Obama on Energy & Oil
: Oct 1, 2006
We cannot drill our way out of our addiction to oil
It is hard to overstate the degree to which our addiction to oil undermines our future. Without any change to energy policy, US demand for oil will jump 40% in 20 years. Over the same period, worldwide demand will jump 30%.A large portion of the
$800 million we spend on foreign oil every day goes to some of the world’s most volatile regimes. And there are the environmental consequences. Just about every scientist outside the White House believes climate change is real.
We cannot drill our way
out of the problem. Instead of subsidizing the oil industry, we should end every single tax break the industry currently receives and demand that 1% of the revenues from oil companies with over $1 billion in quarterly profits go toward financing
alternative energy research and infrastructure.
Over the last 30 years, countries like Brazil have used a mix of regulation and direct government investment to develop a biofuel industry; 70% of its new vehicles run on sugar-based ethanol.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama, p.167-169
Amy Klobuchar on Energy & Oil
: Jan 18, 2006
National strategy to address global warming
I will fight for a national strategy to address global warming and reduce greenhouse gases by developing renewable sources of fuel and by setting energy efficiency and emission standards that protect our environment and reduce our dependence
on foreign oil. I will fight to expand incentives to encourage greater investment in renewable energy resources and technology. This is good for the nation and it’s good for Minnesota.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: 2006 Senate campaign website, www.amyklobuchar.com, “Issues”
Bernie Sanders on Principles & Values
: Jun 3, 2005
Current administration has numbed American outrage
The word outrage has lost its meaning! What does outrage mean when we have an administration that took us to war under false premises? What does outrage mean at a time when the United States has the most unfair gap between the rich and the poor of any
industrialized nation? What does outrage mean when the White House and the Republican leadership are some of the few people in the entire world who do not understand the profound dangers of global warming?
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: 2005 Take Back America Conference
Hillary Clinton on Energy & Oil
: Sep 9, 2000
Ratify Kyoto; more mass transit
As Senator, I will work for New York to get its fair share of federal mass transit funds and to increase the amount of money that goes to transit funds. And, I will vote to ratify the Kyoto Protocol to bring all nations
together to address global warming and build a better future for us all.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: www.hillary2000.org, “Environment”
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