What Harris and Pence Should Have Said About Climate Change
The vice presidential debate on Wednesday was a breath of fresh air compared to hearing Trump and Biden interrupting each other. When the topic of climate change came up, I was hopeful that there might be some reasonable dialogue on the topic. Instead we got this:
It was a series misinformation and talking points that really missed the mark. As a climate scientist, I felt like we need our politicians to do better and speak to the urgency of the climate crisis. So, I rewrote their answers that accurately reflect the state of the science. Enjoy.
Moderator: This year we’ve seen record-setting hurricanes in the south. Another one, Hurricane Delta is now threatening the gulf. And we have seen record-setting wildfires in the West. Do you believe, as the scientific community has concluded, that man-made climate change has made wildfires bigger, hotter and more deadly? And it made hurricanes wetter, slower and more damaging? You have two minutes, uninterrupted.
Pence: Thank you Susan. Well first, I’m very proud of our record on the environment and on conservation. According to all of the best estimates, our, our air and land are cleaner than any time ever recorded. And our water is among the cleanest in the world. Just a little while ago, the president signed the Outdoors Act, the largest investment in our public lands and public parks in 100 years. So, President Trump has made a commitment to conservation and to the environment. Now with regard to climate change, the climate is changing. But the issue is, what’s the cause and what do we do about it. President Trump has made it clear that we’re going to continue to listen to the science. Now Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, would put us back in the Paris Climate Accord. They’d impose the Green New Deal, which would crush American energy, would increase the energy cost of American families in their homes and literally would crush American jobs. President Trump and I believe that the progress that we have made in a cleaner environment has been happening precisely because we have a strong free market economy. You know what’s remarkable is the United States has reduced CO2 more than the countries that are still in the Paris Climate Accord, but we’ve done it through innovation. And we’ve done it through natural gas and fracking, which, Senator, the American people can go look at the record. I know Joe Biden says otherwise now, as you do, but the both of you repeatedly committed to abolishing fossil fuel and banning fracking. And so by creating the kind of American innovation, we’re actually steering toward a stronger and better environment. With regard to wildfires, President Trump and I believe that forest management has to be front and center, and even governor Gavin Newsome from your state has agreed we’ve got to work on forest management. And with regard to hurricanes, the National Oceanic Administration tells us that actually as, as difficult as they are — there are no more hurricanes today than there were 100 years ago — but many of the climate alarmists use hurricanes and wildfires to try and — sell the good of a Green New Deal. And President Trump and I are gonna always put American jobs and American workers first.
Smart Pence: Thank you Susan. You are absolutely correct. The climate is changing. Climate change is not a matter of belief. It’s fact and the fact is that if nothing is done, the American people will suffer. I’m very proud of our record on the environment and on conservation but still more needs to be done. According to the EPA’s annual report of CO2 emissions, the US’s contribution to greenhouse gases has only increased in the last few decades. Our per capita emissions are more than double of any other country on Earth. The efforts we’ve made during the Trump administration are Band-Aids to a larger, systemic problem. The Great Outdoors Act, which Trump signed a little while ago, will provide billions in funding to our beautiful National Parks but it will do practically nothing to address our reliance on fossil fuels. The climate is changing and we are the cause. There is no question that we have to take action to address the mess that we made. Our administration has time and time again discredited the work of scientists on this issue but no more. We need to go back onto the Paris Climate Accord. We need the Green New Deal so that we can boost American industry in wind and solar technology. With decreasing costs of wind and solar energy, this will likely cause Americans to see decreases in their energy bill and a boom in job growth. Free market solutions have not solved the problem. Since our administration took office, our per capita emissions have increased 35 times faster than countries in the Paris Climate Agreement. We’ve done it through ignoring the problem, through natural gas extraction and fracking. We need to abolish fossil fuels and ban fracking. We need to steer towards a stronger and cleaner environment. With regard to wildfires, President Trump and I believe that forest management only plays a small part of the disaster we’ve seen. As governor Gavin Newsom has said, “We’re no longer living in 19th century, and we don’t need to drill things or extract things in order to advance our economic goals and advance our mobility needs.” We need to recognize the dangers of increased hurricanes. As the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Lab within the National Ocean and Atmospheric Association has stated, hurricanes will likely get significantly wetter and stronger with climate change. The power of hurricanes has increased by 4-fold in the past few decades resulting in millions of Americans at risk of losing their homes. We believe in putting America first and that means taking aggressive action to address climate change.
Moderator: Thank you, Vice President Pence. Senator Harris, as the Vice President mentioned, you co-sponsored the Green New Deal in Congress, but Vice President Biden said in last week’s debate that he does not support the Green New Deal. But if you look at the Biden Harris campaign website it describes the Green New Deal as a crucial framework. What exactly would be the stance of a Biden Harris Administration toward the green New Deal? You have two minutes, uninterrupted.
Harris: Alright, so first of all, I will repeat, and the American people know, that Joe Biden will not ban fracking. That is a fact. That is a fact. I will repeat that Joe Biden has been very clear that he thinks about growing jobs, which is why he will not increase taxes for anyone who makes less than $400,000 a year. Joe Biden’s economic plan Moody’s, which is a reputable Wall Street firm, has said will create 7 million more jobs than Donald Trump’s. And part of those jobs, that will be created by Joe Biden, are going to be about clean energy and renewable energy. Because you see, Joe understands that the West Coast of our country is burning, including my home state of California. Joe sees what is happening on the Gulf states, which are being battered by storms. Joe has seen and talked with the farmers in Iowa, whose entire crops have been destroyed because of floods. And so Joe believes, again, in science. I’ll tell you something, Susan, I served, when I first got to the Senate, on the committee that’s responsible for the environment. Do you know this administration took the word science off the website? And then took the phrase climate change off the website? This — We have seen a pattern with this administration which is they don’t believe in science. And Joe’s plan is about saying we’re going to deal with it, but we’re also going to create jobs. Donald Trump, when asked about the wildfires in California and the question was, you know, the science is telling us this ,you know what Donald Trump said? Science doesn’t know. So, let’s talk about who is prepared to lead our country over the course of the next four years on what is an existential threat to us as human beings. Joe is about saying we’re going to invest that in renewable energy, we’re going to be about the creation of millions of jobs, we will achieve net zero emissions by 2050, carbon neutral by 2035 — Joe has a plan. This has been a lot of talk from the Trump administration, and really it has been to go backward instead of forward. We will also reenter the climate agreement with pride.
Smart Harris: The Green New Deal has been the only proposal in Congress to make the changes needed to address climate change. That is why I co-sponsored it. We need to listen to the scientists and that’s exactly what the Green New Deal entails. This includes banning fracking on all federal land and weaning ourselves away from fossil fuels. Joe Biden believes that these actions are imperative because he knows that the best way to get us out of this economic downturn is through expanding Green jobs. Joe Biden’s economic plan is expected to create 7 million more jobs than Donald Trump’s. Solar installers, wind turbine engineers, gigawatt factory workers, that’s the economy of the future and we need to move us towards those innovations. Joe understands that the west coast is burning, including my home state of California. Joe sees that the Gulf states are repeatedly battered by hurricanes. He sees that farmers in Iowa are struggling as their crops are destroyed by floods. He sees these things because he listens to the science. Our administration, unlike the Trump administration, will not take the word science off of its website. It won’t ban scientists from using the term “climate change” as this administration has. When asked about the fires in California, Trump said that “Science doesn’t know.” That’s just wrong. The science says that climate change is an existential threat to us as human beings and we need to address it as such. We need to invest in renewable energy. We need to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and carbon neutrality by 2035. Joe has a plan. We can’t keep digging our own graves. We need to reenter the Paris Agreement and be a leader for the world to tackle climate change.
Moderator: Senator Harris just said that climate change is an existential threat. Vice President Pence, do you believe that climate change poses an existential threat?
Pence: As I said, Susan, the climate is changing. We’ll follow the science, but, once again, Senator Harris is denying the fact that they’re gonna raise taxes on every American. Joe Biden said twice in the debate last week that on day one he was going to repeal the Trump tax cuts. Those tax cuts delivered $2,000 in tax relief to the average family of four across America. And with regard to banning fracking, I just recommend that people look at the record. You yourself said repeatedly that you would ban fracking. You were the first senate co-sponsor of the Green New Deal. And while Joe Biden denied the Green New Deal, Susan, thank you for pointing out, the Green New Deal is on their campaign website. And as USA TODAY said, it’s essentially the same plan as you co-sponsored with AOC when she submitted it in the Senate. And you just heard the senator say that she’s going to resubmit America to the Paris Climate Accord. Look, the American people have always cherished our environment. We will continue to cherish it. We’ve made great progress reducing CO2 emissions through American innovation and the development of natural gas and fracking. We don’t need a massive, $2 trillion Green New Deal that would oppose all new mandates American businesses and American families, Joe Biden wants to retrofit 4 million — American business buildings. It makes no sense. It will cost jobs. President Trump — he’s gonna put America first. He’s going to put jobs first and take care of our environment and follow the science.
Smart Pence: Absolutely. The climate is changing and if we don’t follow the science, millions of lives will be lost. We can address climate change without raising taxes on the middle class. Policies such as a carbon tax and dividend program would mean two thirds of Americans, mainly the lower and middle class, would have fewer taxes and it would reduce emissions by over 50%. We need to ban fracking. Not only does it pump carbon into the air, but it has caused widespread earthquakes throughout the country. I commend you for co-sponsoring the Green New Deal and it’s disappointing the Biden didn’t as well. The American people cherish our environment. That’s why nearly 60% of voters are in favor of the Green New Deal. We will continue to cherish the environment. That’s why I’m in favor of rejoining the Paris Agreement. We’ve made great progress in developing technologies such as wind and solar but we need to do more to reduce emissions such a reducing natural gas and fracking. We need to go beyond the $2 trillion proposed in your plan. We need to completely reshape how we produce energy. We can do that while creating jobs and putting America first. We can do that by following the science.