The Green New Deal
The Green New Deal is the congressional resolution that lays out a grand plan for tackling climate change. The legislation is co-sponsored by senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar; all of the front-runners for the Democratic nomination have endorsed at least portions of it.
Klobuchar’s detailed description of her climate plan does not mention the Green New Deal, however, and she has called the plan aspirational rather than prescriptive, telling CNN that it doesn’t make sense to “get rid of all these industries or do this in a few years,” while it does make sense to “start doing concrete things, and put some aspirations out there on climate change.”
Bloomberg also did not embrace the Green New Deal in his climate plan, but he has said that he supports the climate portions of it. He stresses that climate activists should focus on what’s doable.
A Price on Carbon
Economists and some climate scientists have argued that the best way to fight climate change is to put a price on emitting planet- warming greenhouse gases and raise that price incrementally over a period of years.
Warren did not mention a price on carbon in her detailed climate proposals, but her campaign told NPR that she is “open to a carbon tax.”
Sanders’ plan says he will “massively” raise taxes on corporate polluters’ and “raise penalties on pollution from fossil fuel energy generation.” His campaign told NPR that “a price on carbon must be part of a larger strategy.”
Mike Bloomberg has endorsed the idea of a federal carbon tax in the past, but his climate plan does not include a price on carbon, at least not yet. “Putting a price on carbon should be one among many actions the federal government takes to combat climate change,” his campaign told NPR.
Fracking Ban
Klobuchar, Buttigieg, Biden and Bloomberg have called for increased fracking oversight, but their climate plans do not mention a fracking ban.