Sanders warns of ‘drought and floods and extreme weather,’ criticizes Clinton on climate change
On any number of issues, the Hillary Clinton camp stresses that her policies are realistic and attainable. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ message, in turn, is that his vision is sweeping and aspirational. Those contrasting messages were highlighted by the back-and-forth on climate change Thursday night during the CNN Democratic presidential primary debate in Brooklyn.
Clinton described working for years in Congress to “get rid of subsidies for big oil” and about the “transition from fossil fuels to clean energy.” She was proud of helping to negotiate the Paris Agreement on climate change signed by 195 countries, she said, and was disappointed that Sanders criticized it for not going far enough.
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At which point Sanders once again criticized it for not going far enough. “Of course the agreement is a step forward,” he said. “But … we have got to get beyond paper. We have to lead the world in transforming our energy system not tomorrow but yesterday.”
He added: “When we look at climate change, we have got to realize this is a global environmental crisis of unprecedented urgency. … We have an enemy out there, and that enemy is going to cause drought and floods and extreme weather disturbances. There’s gonna be international conflict.”
Cover thumbnail photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
