The field of Democrats looking to beat President Donald Trump this year are largely aligned in their pledge to rejoin the Paris Climate agreement. Most candidates want to end new fossil-fuel leasing on public lands and several are critical of fracking. A few have latched onto a Green New Deal.
Widening the lens, however, the field’s environmental proposals reveal key differences in the details, and not just when it comes to U.S. oil CL.1, -0.24%[1] , where to extract it and how to sell it. The U.S., projected to drill at record-setting production levels[2] over the next two years, nears toppling Saudi Arabia as the world’s leading oil exporter. But rather than get hung up on U.S. oil independence, the nation should be investing in alternative energy sources and hiring more Americans to work in these blooming industries, say candidates including Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, among others.
Read: As vague as it is, the Green New Deal could have a real impact on Corporate America. Here’s why[3]
“One area where candidates overwhelmingly agree [on climate] is ending new leases for fossil-fuel development on federal lands. Investors should take note because this is something that a president can do unilaterally, without congressional approval,” said James Lucier, who leads the energy, environmental and tax practices at Capital Alpha, in a note last fall.
Read: Trump rally in Milwaukee serves as counterprogramming to final Democratic presidential debate before Iowa caucuses[4]
Climate concerns featured among the questions lobbed at Sanders of Vermont and Warren of Massachusetts, former Vice President Joe Biden, former mayor of South Bend, Ind., Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Tom Steyer, a billionaire executive and activist in a Jan. 14 debate that is the last before a national audience before primary season. A total of 12 Democrats are still in the race[5].
Some candidates were careful to swing the debate back to climate issues even when the topic wasn’t specifically highlighted. Biden, for instance, said during the debate he would not sign trade deals as president without environmentalists and labor representation at the negotiating table[6].
Several in the 2020 field back a Green New Deal that has already been factoring into the election conversation, although some are adding their own features to the pact rolled out by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other members of Congress last year. Sanders, Warren and Klobuchar all eventually signed off on the Green New Deal legislation, which has not found traction in a divided Congress. Candidate Michael Bloomberg has called it a non-starter.
Commentary: 10 bad ideas this year include the Green New Deal, Trump’s protectionism and Warren’s central planning[7]
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