As a whole, Americans are more concerned about climate change right now than at any point in the past eight years. It leads many to wonder — where do we go from here? At a time when sea levels are rising on our front porch in Florida, there might be no better time to ask.
Whether natural weather patterns are the cause, or the overwhelming data by the science community provide us reason to suspect our carbon emissions are at fault, and polls show that 64 percent of Americans are either “worried a great deal” or a “fair amount” about the progression of global warming.
This includes many Republicans. In the face of mass media attention over melting ice caps, flooding in Miami, and vanishing water supplies in California, the issue of global warming is one that appears to be becoming less partisan by the year.
So in case you’re wondering, here’s how the two candidates differ on the subject of climate change:
Donald Trump
Donald Trump the campaigner has snagged headlines by saying things such as “I don’t believe in climate change,” and “we could use a big fat dose of global warming!” while Donald Trump the businessman signed an open letter published to the New York Times in 2009 as Obama headed out for negotiations in Copenhagen that urged for “meaningful and effective measures to control climate change” and detailed “catastrophic and irreversible consequences for humanity and our planet.”
Indeed, Trump’s claims on climate science are a big departure from where nearly a half of Republican voters stand on the issue.
China. On the campaign trail, Trump has talked of nothing more than weather patterns changing in their natural course and a yuuuuge “hoax” by the Chinese aimed at making manufacturing “non-competitive.” Of China, Trump says, “I joke.” But he believes “[the Chinese] burn everything you could burn; they couldn’t care less. They have very — you know, their standards are nothing. But they — in the meantime, they can undercut us on price. So it’s very hard on our business.”
Regulations. Trump has promised to repeal the “draconian” restrictions put in place on carbon emissions by the Obama administration. He has proposed eliminating “all the job-destroying Obama executive actions, including the Climate Action Plan” and has promised to “cancel the Paris Climate Agreement and stop all payments of U.S. tax dollars to U.N. global warming programs.” He promises to reduce the EPA regulations levied upon energy companies, and “unleash” the market
America First. Without giving many specific insights into policy, Trump has promised to make the U.S. independent of OPEC and tap into what he estimates is $50 trillion worth of fossil fuels beneath National Parks and other federal lands. He would also encourage renewable energy exploration, saying, “the government should not pick winners and losers. Instead, it should remove obstacles to exploration.”
Read more about Trump’s “America First” energy plan here.
Hillary Clinton
Trump’s opponent has also evolved on the issue somewhat, and in her extensive energy policy rollout Hillary Clinton suggested that by 2027 the United States should get around a third of its energy from renewable resources.
And, while she has lambasted coal mining and promised to put the industry out of business, she has also promised $30 billion in assistance to redevelop cities dependent upon coal jobs.
Incentives. Clinton’s Clean Energy Challenge would aim to create 140 gigawatts of renewable energy in the U.S. by the end of her first term, and she promises to reward American innovation in partnership with leaders on the community level. Her campaign has promised $60 billion in taxpayer money toward this goal. An Environmental Quality Incentives Program would also help farmers and ranchers who undertake efforts to protect lands and wildlife while promoting responsible hunting grounds for outdoorsmen and anglers.
Big Oil ≠ big break. Although she would not put a hard tax on carbon as some progressives have suggested, Clinton would eliminate current tax breaks and subsidies enjoyed by Big Oil companies like Exxon. She also promises “strong standards for reducing [gas] leaks from both new and existing sources,” hinting at increased regulations over the natural gas industry. It’s all part of a promise to get low-cost renewable energy to consumers and level the playing field in the energy market.
Public lands. Championing environmental stewardship over the National Parks and other public lands, Clinton has promised conservation efforts will be rewarded and expanded upon. Over 3,000 city parks would be revitalized under her watch, and the outdoor economy would grow to the tune of $700 billion. She would also reform leasing and expand clean energy production by tenfold on public lands within ten years.
Read more about Hillary Clinton’s climate action plan here.