Greenpeace, a left-wing environmental group, released its “climate change report card” results on Thursday, ranking the Democrat presidential candidates on the issue, including former Vice President Joe Biden, who received a D-minus grade.
“Biden, the Democratic front runner, has yet to release a detailed plan on how he will combat climate change,” a Bloomberg report said. “But the scorecard evaluated 19 candidates on their commitments to ending the use of fossil fuels and support for environmental policies based on statements, legislative records and published plans. Some candidates also responded to a 29-question survey from the environmental group.”
“If he wants to translate his front-runner status in the polls to actual leadership on climate, we need [Biden] to come out with a bold, concrete plan in line with the scale of the crisis we’re facing,” Janet Redman, climate campaign director for Greenpeace USA, said in the Bloomberg report.
While on a campaign trip to New Hampshire earlier this month, Biden called for an “environmental revolution,” but he has yet to join other Democrats who have committed to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) Green New Deal.
Support for the deal, which would radically transform the U.S. economy and infrastructure, is one of the scores on the report card.
“We have an existential threat,” Biden said. “If we don’t act quickly we’re going to basically lose everything we have.”
Climate change is turning out to be one of the top priorities for the Democrats’ platform ahead of 2020.
Former Colorado governor and presidential hopeful John Hickenlooper also received a D-minus because of his support for the prosperous and plentiful oil and natural gas industry in the state.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, also a presidential hopeful, got the highest score, with an A-minus grade.
Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) tied for second, earning a B-plus on the report card.
Only one candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, a Republican, got a lower score than Biden and Hickenlooper, coming in with an F grade.
Bloomberg News was founded by billionaire and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is also an environmental activist.
The Associated Press (AP) reported in April 2018 that Bloomberg was ready to write a $4.5 million check to the United Nations to make up for the loss of U.S. funding in the Paris climate change accord, from which President Donald Trump withdrew in 2017.
“America made a commitment and as an American, if the government’s not going to do it, we all have responsibility. I’m able to do it,” Bloomberg told CBS News’s Face the Nation. “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 the federal government.”
“Bloomberg has long championed the fight against global warming,” AP reported.
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