Former Vice President Joe Biden was the fifth candidate to take the stage in CNN’s seven-hour presidential town hall on climate change. Anderson Cooper hopped right into the discussion after a quick welcome (they were the first to take a seat since Julián Castro, for those keeping track).
In the face of other candidates, Cooper asked if Biden’s plan was aggressive. Biden said it was, saying scientists have told him it can’t be done faster.
A young activist pointed out that politicians always put money first, and asked how younger generations could trust him not to do the same to them. Biden simply said that he never has, and cited his long career in politics.
Cooper then asked him if he’d implement a carbon tax, as every candidate on the stage so far has vowed to do. Biden pointed out that other countries produce the bulk of emissions, and he’s the one to convince them to do better. Cooper noted that Donald Trump says similar things. Biden then said that Trump is frequently wrong, and should have never left the Paris Climate Accord. He then said his first act as president would be to bring all signees of the Paris Climate Accord for a meeting in Washington, D.C.
Cooper then cut him off to toss it to a 27-year-old Ph.D. candidate from Northwestern University, who angrily noted that the majority of carbon emissions have been created in his lifetime, by companies who lied about the devastation they were creating. He then asked how Biden could be trusted to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable if he wouldn’t vow to reject fossil fuel money, and was having a fundraiser with Andrew Goldman on Thursday. Cooper had to tell Biden who Goldman was after he denied that he was a fossil fuel exec, and he claimed not to know, and said he would take another look at the fundraiser.
Next, the mother of two children killed in Superstorm Sandy asked for specific steps Biden would take to mitigate the effects of climate change in both his first year and in his first term. Biden cited a rollback of Trump standards and policies that help displaced people. As an example, he offered changing standards for appliances; he insisted we should “own” the electric car industry. He vowed to install standards that his successor could not un-do, and Cooper asked for clarification. Biden said that many were unaware that things that Trump has done were even possible … until he did them. He cited the Amazon, and vowed that he’s the diplomat that can effect world change.
A retired teacher from Colorado came in from video next, asking why Barack Obama prioritized healthcare over the climate, and asked how Biden would do things differently. Biden reminded the audience that Obama inherited every problem “but locusts.” He then launched into a lengthy defense of Obama, including his creation of the Paris Climate Accord. He did not answer the question before Cooper moved on to the Green New Deal.
When asked if the Green New Deal went too far, Biden said “no,” but his concern is that it lacks specifics. He then repeated the talking point he shares with Trump—that the rest of the world is 85% of the problem, even if the U.S. does everything right. He reiterated the need for specificity, and cited that his plan is getting decent grades by the very groups the audience members work for.
When asked if he’s thinking about workers in Ohio and other areas, Biden declared that this a tremendous opportunity for new industries. He did concede that some workers and people would be displaced on the path to fighting climate change, but we can’t keep our heads down, lamenting next steps.
Next, a rural Pennsylvania retiree, from a town home to over 1600 fracked gas wells, asked what Biden could do to change direction of catastrophic climate change policies at the state level. Biden mused that he didn’t believe federal action would get the votes needed, but he would forbid new fracking at the federal level, joking that “there used to be an EPA.”
A self-described Trump voter in the room asked how he’d get China, the world’s largest emitter of CO2, to lower their emissions. Biden acknowledged the problem, and vowed incentives, implying negative consequences for lack of compliances.
Cooper followed up by asking if fossil fuel exports should be banned, and Biden insisted that everything must be incremental. Cooper followed up by asking if he had deadlines in mind for, say, people driving only electric cars. Biden explained again that this will take time, and create jobs.
Bill Weir’s turn again. The CNN Chief Climate Correspondent asked about how he could help Americans prepare for natural disasters without it destroying their lives or the economy. Biden pointed out that he already did that, in Pennsylvania, which is close to sea level. He cut himself off, as he did in previous debates, yielding the floor to a member of the New Jersey Audubon Society, who asked how climate change has affected Biden and his family.
Biden talked about having oil on the car windshield as a kid, and how he’s not sure if that’s why he has asthma. He cited an anecdote from his time as Vice President, the Pentagon told the administration that climate change was one of the greatest threats to national security.
After a quick clarification about Biden’s fundraiser tomorrow, and that was a wrap on Biden. Up now, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
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Read more about each candidate’s Climate Change town hall through the links below.
Former HUD Secretary Julián Castro
Businessman Andrew Yang
California Sen. Kamala Harris
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren
South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg
Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker