Opinion, Berkeley Blogs

Trump, Clinton on the environment: a handy guide

By Dan Farber

Here’s a handy chart comparing Trump and Clinton on environmental and energy issues. I’ve assembled the relevant statements by the candidates below the summary table.

Issue

Clinton

 Trump

Is climate change real?

Yes, an urgent threat.

 No, it’s a hoax.

Support Clean Power Plan?

 Yes

 No

Support Keystone XL pipeline?

 No

 Yes

Drill in Arctic?

 No

 Yes

Support Paris Agreement?

 Yes

 No

Favors renewables?

 Supports  expansion

 Skeptical

 

Here’s the evidence:

Is climate change real?

CLINTON: “Climate change is an urgent threat and a defining challenge of our time.” [campaign website]

TRUMP: “This very expensive GLOBAL WARMING bullshit has got to stop. Our planet is freezing, record low temps, and our GW scientists are stuck in ice.” [tweet]

Support Clean Power Plan?

CLINTON: “As president, Hillary will: Defend, implement, and extend smart pollution and efficiency standards, including the Clean Power Plan.” [campaign website].

TRUMP: Attacks Obama for “Draconian climate rules that, unless stopped, would effectively bypass Congress to impose job-killing cap-and-trade.” [5/26/16 speech]

Support Keystone XL pipeline?

CLINTON: “I think it is imperative that we look at the Keystone pipeline as what I believe it is — a distraction from important work we have to do on climate change. And unfortunately from my perspective, one that interferes with our ability to move forward with all the other issues. Therefore I oppose it.” [CNN]

TRUMP: “But President Obama has done everything he can to keep us dependent on others. Let me list some of the good energy projects he killed. He rejected the Keystone XL Pipeline . . . “ “I’m going to ask Trans Canada to renew its permit application for the Keystone Pipeline.” [5/26/16 speech]

Drill in Arctic?

CLINTON: ‘“The Arctic is a unique treasure. . . Given what we know, it’s not worth the risk of drilling.”’ [Washington Post]

TRUMP: “[Obama has] taken huge percentage of the Alaska petroleum – and you take the reserve; he’s taken if off the table.” [Alaska Dispatch News]

Support Paris Agreement?

CLINTON: “Hillary’s plan is designed to deliver on the pledge President Obama made at the Paris climate conference last December.” [campaign website]

TRUMP: “This agreement gives foreign bureaucrats control over how much energy we use right now in America. . . .We’re going to cancel the Paris Climate Agreement and stop all payments of U.S. tax dollars to U.N. global warming programs.” [5/26/16 energy speech]

Incentives for renewables?

CLINTON: Pledges to “Fight to extend federal clean energy incentives and make them more cost effective both for taxpayers and clean energy producers.” [campaign website]

TRUMP: “We will get the bureaucracy out of the way of innovation, so we can pursue all forms of energy. This includes renewable energies and the technologies of the future. It includes nuclear, wind and solar energy – but not to the exclusion of other energy. The government should not pick winners and losers. Instead, it should remove obstacles to exploration.” [5/26/16 speech]

“The problem with solar is it’s very expensive. When you have a 30-year payback, that’s not exactly the greatest thing in the world. . . . Without subsidy, wind doesn’t work. . . If you go to various places in California, wind is killing all of the eagles. If you shoot an eagle or you kill an eagle, they want to put you in jail for five years. And yet the windmills are killing hundreds and hundreds of eagles. One of the most beautiful, one of the most treasured birds and they’re killing them by the hundreds and nothing happens. So wind is a problem.” [Fox News]

Cross-posted from the environmental law and policy blog Legal Planet.