Climate Change | 2016 Democratic Presidential Candidates

What do the Democratic Candidates Believe About Climate Change?

Y= for N= against

 

Hillary Clinton: Y

Hillary Clinton Lays Out Climate Change Plan

DES MOINES — Setting ambitious goals for producing energy from the sun, wind and other renewable sources, Hillary Rodham Clinton seized on an issue Monday that increasingly resonates with Democratic voters and sets up a stark contrast with the Republican presidential field.

 

With many Republican candidates saying they do not believe that climate change is a threat or requires government intervention, Mrs. Clinton assailed their logic, saying, “The reality of climate change is unforgiving no matter what the deniers say.”

 

She set a goal to produce 33 percent of the nation’s electricity from renewable sources by 2027, up from 7 percent today — a higher goal than the 20 percent that President Obama has called for by 2030…

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/28/us/politics/hillary-clinton-lays-out-climate-change-plan.html

 

This one Hillary quote about climate change is very, very important

“So this is an exciting time. From the administration’s announcement last month of a $3 billion commitment to the global green climate fund, to that new joint announcement with China, to new rules under consideration for ozone, we continue to push forward. But that is just the beginning of what is needed.”…

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2014/12/04/this-one-hillary-quote-about-climate-change-is-very-very-important/

 

Hillary: “Climate Change Is Most Urgent, Consequential Challenge We Face”

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)

 

At annual energy conference in Las Vegas, Hillary Clinton said, “Climate change is the most consequential, urgent, sweeping collection of challenges we face.”

 

The majority of Clinton’s address centered on foreign policy, the Journal reported. The former First Lady emphasized that the U.S. needs to strengthen its international agreements to combat climate change and called for a “strong agreement, applicable to all.”

 

Clinton is optimistic that a strong agreement can be reached now that Obama’s climate action plan is in place. Clinton proudly stated that the U.S. can now “show the world we are serious about meeting our obligations and show… the U.S. can still do big things.”

 

8 things you need to know about Hillary Clinton and climate change

 

It’s strange to remember how bitterly divisive the 2008 Democratic presidential primary battle was. Hillary Clinton’s and Barack Obama’s platforms and ideological positioning were awfully similar. And on the chief difference between them — Obama’s less hawkish foreign policy — the victor wiped away that distinction by appointing Clinton as secretary of state. Now Clinton has announced her candidacy and is poised to coast through the 2016 Democratic primaries as her party’s prohibitive favorite. Would a Clinton presidency be essentially a third Obama term?

 

On climate change and energy, it seems the answer is yes…

 

Eight important points about Clinton’s climate and energy views:

  1. She understands the science. “The science of climate change is unforgiving, no matter what the deniers may say. Sea levels are rising; ice caps are melting; storms, droughts and wildfires are wreaking havoc. … If we act decisively now we can still head off the most catastrophic consequences.”…
  2. She thinks the politics of climate change are daunting. In the same LCV speech, she said, “The political challenges are also unforgiving. There is no getting around the fact that the kind of ambitious response required to effectively combat climate change is going to be a tough sell at home and around the world at a time when so many countries including our own are grappling with slow growth and stretched budgets.”…
  3. She fully supports Obama’s landmark power-plant rules. In her LCV speech, Clinton praised the EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan to regulate carbon emissions from power plants, saying, “the unprecedented action that President Obama has taken must be protected at all cost.”…
  4. She connects climate change to women’s rights. Clinton has been a strong advocate for clean cookstoves — an issue that might sound small, but has big impacts on the daily lives and health of poor women and their families. In 2010, as secretary of state, she took the lead in launching the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, a public-private partnership led by the United Nations Foundation, with the aim of deploying 100 million clean cookstoves in the developing world by 2020…
  5. She promoted fracking abroad while secretary of state. Clinton encouraged developing countries to sign deals with American fossil fuel companies to extract their shale gas through fracking. This is consistent with Obama’s fondness for touting natural gas as a lower-carbon “bridge fuel” to help us move from coal to renewables. Mariah Blake of Mother Jones did a deep dive from last year that found, “Under her leadership, the State Department worked closely with energy companies to spread fracking around the globe — part of a broader push to fight climate change, boost global energy supply, and undercut the power of adversaries such as Russia that use their energy resources as a cudgel. But environmental groups fear that exporting fracking, which has been linked to drinking-water contamination and earthquakes at home, could wreak havoc in countries with scant environmental regulation…
  6. Her family’s charitable foundation takes lots of oil money. Big oil companies like ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips have given millions of dollars to the Clinton Foundation, as have Saudi Arabia and other oil-rich nations in the Middle East. Thursday brought the latest exposé on this issue from the International Business Times, which reports on donations from Pacific Rubiales, a Canadian oil company accused of human rights violations in Colombia. Pacific Rubiales’ founder, Frank Giustra, now sits on the Clinton Foundation’s board. IBT reports, “After millions of dollars were pledged by the oil company to the Clinton Foundation — supplemented by millions more from Giustra himself…
  7. She has supported offshore oil drilling. In 2006, Clinton sided with Republicans and against climate hawks like Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) by voting in favor of a bill opening new Gulf Coast areas to offshore oil drilling. Obama has opened up many areas for offshore oil drilling, and it’s possible Clinton would do the same.
  8. She avoids saying anything about Keystone XL. Even when asked directly about it, Clinton just refuses to answer. In January she told a Canadian audience, “You won’t get me to talk about Keystone because I have steadily made clear that I’m not going to express an opinion.”…

Keystone XL: http://www.nrdc.org/energy/keystone-pipeline/

 

Full article: http://grist.org/climate-energy/8-things-you-need-to-know-about-hillary-clinton-and-climate-change/

Bernie Sanders: Y

Bernie Sanders: Climate Change Is The Biggest National Security Threat

“That is a major crisis.”

 

All the Democratic candidates for president were asked during Tuesday’s debate to list what they consider the biggest national security threat to the United States. While most focused on the Middle East or China — anticipated responses — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) chose climate change.

 

“The scientific community is telling us 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,” Sanders said. “That is a major crisis.”

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-climate-change_561db3bbe4b0c5a1ce610f4c

 

Quotes from his own tritter account:

“Climate change is real, caused by human activity and already devastating our nation and planet. The United States must lead the world in combating climate change and transforming our energy system away from fossil fuels and toward energy efficiency and sustainability.”

 

“Debating, doubting, or rejecting the basic scientific facts about climate change in the face of the overwhelming evidence and overwhelming scientific opinion will not change those facts.”

 

“Every candidate running for president has got to answer the following very simple question: At a time when we need to address the planetary crisis of climate change, and transform our energy system away from fossil fuels and into energy efficiency and sustainability, should we continue to give $135 billion in tax breaks and subsidies over the next decade to fossil fuel companies?”

 

“The debate is over. The scientific community has spoken in a virtually unanimous voice. Climate change is real. It is caused by human activity…”

 

“The United States must lead the world in reversing climate change. We can do that.”

 

http://www.betterworld.net/quotes/bernie6.htm

 

Breaking: Bernie Sanders Wants to Ban All New Fossil Fuel Development on Federal Lands

Bernie Sanders announced on Wednesday afternoon his support for a new climate bill that would ban all new fossil fuel development on US federal lands and terminate current leases that aren’t producing. The bill, called the “Keep It In The Ground Act,” would also ban offshore drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic and the Atlantic and would stop new leases for offshore drilling in the Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico.

 

“I believe all of us have a moral responsibility,” Sanders told the rally at the Capitol in Washington, DC, which also featured Bill McKibben, the founder of environmental advocacy group 350.org. “That’s just the simple truth.”

 

If the US doesn’t act more aggressively to limit carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels, Sanders said, “the planet that we’re going to be leaving for our kids is something we should be ashamed of.”…

 

Worry less about your campaign contributions, worry more about your children and grandchildren,” Sanders told his Republicans colleagues. “The debate is over.”

 

Sanders’s announcement could open up a difference with his rival in the Democratic primary, Hillary Clinton, who has also made climate change central to her run for the White House. Climate Desk has reached out to Clinton’s campaign for reaction. The campaign has not yet responded.

 

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2015/11/bernie-sanders-drilling-climate-federal-lands-ban

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