Environment

Joe Biden (D)

• Supports the Green New Deal
• Targeting net-zero emissions and a 100% clean energy economy by 2050
• Calls for public investments of $1.7 trillion in clean energy and other environmental initiatives over 10 years
• Total would reach $5 trillion with investments from state/local governments and private companies
• Invest specifically in green infrastructure (buildings, water, and transportation), and clean energy such as biofuels and wind and solar energy
• Those funds would be generated by undoing the Trump tax cuts
• Take American agriculture to net-zero emissions by dramatically expanding a USDA program that pays farmers, under five-year contracts, to adopt environmentally friendly practices
• Build 500,000 charging stations throughout the U.S. for electric vehicles
• Rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement
• Supports setting a price on carbon to push companies to reduce their emissions
• Ban new oil and gas permits on public lands
• Eliminate fossil fuel subsidies
• Supports developing new nuclear technologies as part of an effort to fight climate change

Michael Bloomberg (D)

• Has praised the concept of the Green New Deal, but has promised to introduce what he considers to be an “achievable” version
• Cut emissions by 50% in the next ten years
• By 2028, 80% of electricity-generation in the U.S. will come from clean sources
• Accelerate the deployment of clean energy resources and create millions of jobs
• Eliminate coal-fired power plants by 2030, stop the growth of natural gas, and transition the United States to renewable energy sources
• End all subsidies to the fossil fuel industry
• Immediately re-join the Paris Climate Agreement
• Hold countries accountable for their emissions reductions targets
• Prioritize the frontline communities that have suffered most from coal pollution or have been left behind in the transition to clean energy
• Ensure corporations are held responsible for the damages they have created
• Fully embed environmental justice into how the government conducts its work
• Reverse President Trump’s rollback of clean air and clean water rules and greatly expand enforcement of the EPA
• Created the Climate Finance Leadership Initiative, which brings together seven of the world’s largest financial institutions with the goal of helping to fund and support ambitious climate plans

Pete Buttigieg (D)

• Supports the Green New Deal
• Believes climate change should be treated as an imminent threat to our economy and national security
• Invest more than $1 trillion to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 and create 3 million clean energy and infrastructure jobs
• $200 billion investment over 10 years in clean energy research and development
• Create a $250 billion Clean Energy Bank to finance innovative technologies such as carbon capturing
• Create a $250 billion fund matched with $250 billion in private investment to lead development of green technologies
• Create a $50 billion seed fund for riskier and experimental ideas
• Fund $200 billion over 10 years into programs for displaced workers transitioning from fossil fuel industry jobs
• Rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement and increase its targets
• Hold a "Pittsburgh summit" so cities can work together to curb emissions
• Create a “U.S. Climate Corps” open to high school graduates dedicated to educating communities and rebuilding infrastructure to make it more resilient to the effects of climate change
• Supports setting a price on carbon to push companies to reduce their emissions, and return revenue as a dividend to the American people
• Supports banning fracking
• End leasing for fossil fuel extraction on federal lands
• Eliminate fossil fuel subsidies
• Supports changing soil management practices and other kinds of investments in agriculture
• Supports nuclear power

Tulsi Gabbard (D)

• Targets net-zero emissions both in the U.S. and globally by 2050
• Has called for 80% of electricity sold to be generated from clean energy resources by 2027 and 100% by 2035
• Supports banning fracking
• Supports closing down existing nuclear power reactors
• Rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement
• Does not support setting a carbon tax
• Ban fossil fuel exports
• End leasing for fossil fuel extraction on federal lands
• Eliminate fossil fuel subsidies

Amy Klobuchar (D)

• Does not support the Green New Deal
• Rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement
• Ensure new projects in infrastructure plan are climate smart and green
• Invest in green jobs and infrastructure, climate research and innovation, environmental justice programs, rural energy development, and greener transportation
• Protect/preserve farmlands, hunting lands, wetlands, coasts and oceans
• Meet the goals of the U.N. panel on climate change - cut greenhouse gases by 45% by 2030, and increase renewable energy by up to 47% by 2050
• Achieve 100% net-zero emissions no later than 2050
• Work to increase gas mileage standards
• Supports new nuclear power development
• Restore the Clean Power Plan, which set emissions standards for states with respect to reductions in carbon dioxide emission
• Supports setting a price on carbon to push companies to reduce their emissions
• Expand a USDA program that pays farmers, under five-year contracts, to adopt environmentally friendly practices
• Restore environmental regulations repealed by the Trump Administration
• Supports regulating fracking
• Eliminate fossil fuel subsidies
• Restore staffing levels at the EPA
• Strict fuel efficiency standards
• Limits on carbon pollution from power plants
• Raise 50 to 150 billion dollars in clean energy bonds for clean energy projects
• Supports incentives for adoption of clean energy technology
• "Buy Clean" product labeling system to build a climate-friendly product market
• Supports innovative local transportation
• Strenghten EPA methane rules

Bernie Sanders (D)

• Supports the Green New Deal
• Reach 100% renewable energy for electricity and transportation by 2030 and complete decarbonization by 2050
• Calls for a $16.3 trillion public investment towards these efforts, and include traditionally excluded minority communities
• Reduce carbon emissions from transportation by building out high-speed passenger rail, electric vehicles, and public transit
• Invest in infrastructure to build a modern electric grid, rebuild drinking water facilities, and retrofit buildings
• Invest in programs to protect the frontline communities most vulnerable to extreme climate events (fires, hurricanes, etc.)
• End unemployment by creating 20 million good paying, union jobs
• Regulate all dangerous greenhouse gases, including methane and hydroflourocarbons (HFCs)
• End exports of coal, natural gas, and crude oil
• Ban fracking and eliminate all subsidies for fossil fuel companies
• Prosecute the fossil feul industry for the damage they've caused
• End leasing for fossil fuel extraction on federal lands
• Guarantee five years of a worker’s current salary and other worker's benefits for any displaced fossil fuel industry worker
• Supports closing down existing nuclear power reactors
• Make the federal government a large producer of renewable energy to sell, similar to the Tennessee Valley Authority
• Increase investment in research to decrease the cost of energy storage
• Open to setting a price on carbon to push companies to reduce their emissions
• Rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement and provide $200 billion to the Green Climate Fund
• Provide grants, technical assistance, and debt relief to support farmers’ transition to more sustainable practices

Tom Steyer (D)

• Supports the Green New Deal
• Rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement
• Declare climate change a national emergency on first day as President
• Five pillar Justice-Centered Climate Plan:
• Establish energy efficient transportation, and construct and retrofit buildings to be cleaner and safer
• Create a Civilian Climate Corps, a combined service, training, and job creation effort to implement community specific climate change solutions
• Invest $50 billion in legacy energy industry (oil and gas) communities to protect wage benefits, end government subsidies to polluters, and restore and expand public nature areas, working lands, and parks
• Invest in climate-smart infrastructure, prioritize clean manufacturing, and require companies to disclose and internalize the costs of their risky fossil fuel holdings
• Secure our military bases against extreme weather, improve our disaster prevention systems, and strengthen our response and recovery strategy
• Put more resources toward clean, renewable energy
• Reduce the U.S.’s dependence on fossil fuels
• End new oil and gas leases on federal land and end offshore drilling
• Ban fracking
• Opposed the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline
• Stand up to corporate polluters who poison our air & water

Donald Trump (R)

• Pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement
• Under Trump, the EPA has loosened restrictions on pollution, logging, and oil drilling
• Lowered fuel economy standards for cars
• Previously accused climate change of being a "hoax" created by the Chinese
• Calls the Green New Deal a hoax
• Pushed to open up oil and gas drilling on federally protected lands and in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans

Joe Walsh (R)

• Believes human activity impacts climate change

Elizabeth Warren (D)

• Supports the Green New Deal
• Rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement
• Believes climate change should be treated as a threat to our economy and national security
• Invest $3 trillion over the next ten years and leverage trillions more in private investment, creating millions of jobs
• Direct $1 trillion of this investment into vulnerable, low-income communities to fight environmental injustice:
• Improve access to health care for affected areas and help at-risk areas adapt to global warming
• Invest in public water systems and raise water quality standards
• Quintuple funding for FEMA’s Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program
• By 2028, 100% zero-carbon pollution for all new commercial and residential buildings
• By 2030, 100% zero emissions for all new passenger vehicles
• By 2035, 100% renewable and zero-emission energy in electricity generation
• Mandate $1.5 trillion in federal procurement for domestically made low-carbon technology, help other countries purchase these clean energy technologies and invest $400 billion in energy research and development
• Commit $100 billion to support the export of American-made clean energy products so that we can help other countries cut their emissions too
• Invest in public water systems and raise water quality standards
• Quintuple funding for FEMA’s Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program
• Shut down all coal-fired power plants in ten years and guarantee government support for affected workers and communities
• Sign an executive order fully banning fossil fuel extraction on public lands
• Open to setting a price on carbon to push companies to reduce their emissions
• Supports banning fracking
• Ban fossil fuel exports
• Eliminate fossil fuel subsidies
• Overturn Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipeline permits
• Does not support building new nuclear power plants
• Charge a fee on goods imported from countries that use fossil fuels
• Expand a USDA program that pays farmers, under five-year contracts, to adopt environmentally friendly practices
• Expand credit for farmers and create "Farm to People" program so that federal institutions can get food locally
• Place regulations on vehicle tailpipe emissions

Bill Weld (R)

• Rejoin Paris Climate Agreement
• Believes in climate change and that the United States' need to act on countering its effects
• Adopt standards for reducing carbon emissions
• Supports environmental regulation
• In favor of the use of nuclear power