Conservatives reacted with outrage to Energy Sec. Jennifer Granholm’s remarks about the United States lacking “moral authority” over China because of its contribution to so-called man-made climate change.
During a round-table discussion last week in Grand Forks, North Dakota, Granholm made a direct comparison between communist China when it comes to pollution.
“You know, we’ve got a global problem and China is a big contributor to that — we are, too,” Granholm said. “And we don’t have much moral authority to say you should be doing this if we are not taking action and deploying the technology that we need to deploy.”
“Embarrassing and wrong: @SecGranholm in North Dakota likens America’s climate standards to China, saying we lack the “moral authority” to call them out for polluting unless we pass President Biden’s radical, liberal climate agenda,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) said in a tweet.
“Despite what liberals like @SecGranholm want you to believe, our innovators have made significant strides in reducing our carbon footprint,” Cramer said in a followup tweet. “The Chinese Communist Party has not, and it’s shown no real interest in doing so.”
“The U.S. absolutely has the moral authority to call out Communist China for its predatory actions—and we must do so. Communist China is our strategic adversary, and we have a duty to confront them from a position of strength,” Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) said.
The Republican House Select Climate Committee criticized Granholm’s comments on social media.
“Really, @SecGranholm? Since 2005, the United States has decreased emissions by a billion tons while China has INCREASED by 5 billion tons – leading the world in emissions growth,” the committee’s official twitter account posted. “Not to mention, China’s green energy supply chain is built on the backs of slave labor.”
“Good grief. Can the Biden administration go just one day without embarrassing and insulting America?” Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley tweeted.
The New York Post reported on the reaction to Granholm comparing the U.S. with communist China, which is, in fact, is opening new coal mines and already operates thousands across that country.
“China is planning to build 43 new coal-fired power plants and 18 new blast furnaces — equivalent to adding about 1.5% to its current annual emissions — according to a new report. The new projects were announced in the first half of this year despite the world’s largest polluter pledging to bring its emissions to a peak before 2030, and to make the country carbon neutral by 2060,” Time magazine reported.
Granholm, the former governor of Michigan, is one of those 13 of President Joe Biden’s cabinet who are traveling to the United Nations upcoming climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland.
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