Blue vs. Red: Who Will Solve America's Climate Problems?

Posted by: aahassonjee

As November 2nd approaches, Democrats and Republicans face an election day that follows quite an eventful election season of emotions and surprises, with the least surprising being the extreme divide between both major parties’ climate change policy positions.

Simply put, the Democratic party states that climate change is a real and pressing problem while the Republican party states that it is neither. The Democratic party is pushing for an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050 and shows strong fervor for the Paris Climate Accords, with most democratic members also pledging support for the stoppage of the Keystone XL pipeline and Dakota access pipelines. They also believe that carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases "should be priced to reflect their negative externalities” with the goal being to develop and promote a clean energy market. The Halliburton loophole, a controversial policy that allowed firms to operate deregulated and pollution-heavy hydro-fracking systems nationwide 10 years ago, is also a target of elimination for Democrats who assert water-system protection and the needs of local communities.

The Republican party argues that job growth and economic progress trump any climate change initiatives, with coal being seen as an “abundant, clean, affordable, reliable” and very valuable resource that should not be left unused. Republicans firmly oppose a carbon tax, and suggest “private capital”-driven research for renewables, and emphasize the imperativeness of using domestic resources, reducing red tape around and making it easier to export dirty fuels. They also pledge their support to the individual state's right to freely develop and control fracking practices, giving participating firms the resources they need. In a more intellectual argument, the party states that environmentalists are “stuck in the mindset of the 1970s” since, in the Republican Party’s own words, “the environment is improving... [with] air and waterways [that] are much healthier than they were a few decades ago.”

Both parties have views that are a planet’s difference apart, but that may not mean that their candidates view the same things. For example. Hillary Clinton previously supported regulated hydro-fracking in certain areas, and has not supported a carbon tax. Donald Trump called climate change a hoax four years ago, and supports deregulation, but has been widely noted by political media not to be the greatest supporter of strict Republican policies.

This year’s vote will be a landmark one for climate change policy, as many scientific organizations have noted that it is quickly becoming a now-or-never situation in the fight against global temperature increases and natural disasters. The hope is that Americans will choose the candidate that will be able to solve the climate problems, and economic issues, in a unified form.

Sources:
https://www.gop.com/platform/americas-natural-resources/
https://www.demconvention.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Democratic-Party-Platform-7.21.16-no-lines.pdf
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/26072016/democrat-republican-party-platforms-energy-climate-change-hillary-clinton-donald-trump
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/14072016/democratic-party-embrace-carbon-price-tax-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders