The far left base of the Democratic party is obsessed with climate change. It’s a major voting issue for them and can shift their support for candidates.
Joe Biden may currently be the front runner for Democrats in 2020, but the left is unimpressed with his climate change policy.
Reuters outlined Biden’s position:
Exclusive: Presidential hopeful Biden looking for ‘middle ground’ climate policy
Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden is crafting a climate change policy he hopes will appeal to both environmentalists and the blue-collar voters who elected Donald Trump, according to two sources, carving out a middle ground approach that will likely face heavy resistance from green activists.
The backbone of the policy will likely include the United States re-joining the Paris Climate Agreement and preserving U.S. regulations on emissions and vehicle fuel efficiency that Trump has sought to undo, according to one of the sources, Heather Zichal, who is part of a team advising Biden on climate change. She previously advised President Barack Obama.
The second source, a former energy department official advising Biden’s campaign who asked not to be named, said the policy could also be supportive of nuclear energy and fossil fuel options like natural gas and carbon capture technology, which limit emissions from coal plants and other industrial facilities.
A spokesman for Biden’s campaign, TJ Ducklo, declined to comment on Biden’s emerging climate policy or his advisers, but said Biden takes climate change seriously. “Joe Biden has called climate change an ‘existential threat,’ and as Vice President was instrumental in orchestrating the Paris Climate Accord,” Ducklo said in an emailed statement.
Progressives on Twitter did not react well to this report. Take a look, via Twitchy:
look if we just let half the cities in the world flood we'll be ahead of the game https://t.co/yuaQRzzswG
— Oliver Willis (@owillis) May 10, 2019
What is the middle ground between believing the science and believing it is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese? https://t.co/bWIyhtK9hQ
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) May 10, 2019
What exactly is the "middle ground" between saving our civilization and global climate breakdown? https://t.co/c88awfdzGR
— John Iadarola (@johniadarola) May 10, 2019
Joe Biden basically came out tonight with a policy of climate change denial. It's foolishness.
Climate change doesn't need "middle ground."
Not a single scientist in America thinks that. https://t.co/t0qyWTIfdz
— Shaun King (@shaunking) May 10, 2019
There's no "middle ground" for the family who's forced to leave the only home they've ever known due to record flooding.
There's no "middle ground" between stability and collapse of the polar ice caps.
There's no "middle ground" between survival and extinction. https://t.co/YehNrXwBZo
— Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) May 10, 2019
This could be a big problem for Biden in the general election.
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