Climate and Clean Energy in the Third Democratic Presidential Debate

Watching the third Democratic debate, the conspicuous absence of any questions on climate change could have led viewers to think they had tuned into a Republican debate. Although not a single question was asked about climate change, which is startling given the fact that the debate comes only a week after the
COP21 agreement was announced, Sanders and O’Malley did manage to briefly mention climate change and clean energy. Clinton conspicuously ignored the topic altogether. She may think this is a good way to win over Republicans who are disillusioned with front running GOP candidate Donald Trump. However it is also a great way to alienate her base.
The debate took place on Saturday December 19th. ABC News hosted Democratic presidential
candidates Hilary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Martin O’Malley. The 3
Democrats vying for the presidential nomination faced off on foreign
policy and domestic issues at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire.

Here are excerpts of Sanders and O’Malley’s climate and clean energy remarks made during the debate:

Sanders: I’m running for president because we have a campaign finance system which is corrupt, where billionaires are spending hundreds of millionaires of dollars to buy candidates who will represent their interests rather than the middle class and working families. I’m running because we need to address the planetary crisis of climate change and take on the fossil fuel industry and transform our energy system away from fossil fuel to energy efficiency and sustainable energy.

O’Malley: We were the only state in American that went four years in a row without a penny increase in college tuition. We invested more in our infrastructure and we squared our shoulders to the great business opportunity of this era and that is moving our economy to a 100 percent clean electric energy future. We created 2,000 new jobs in the solar industry and we fought every single day to adopt more inclusive economic practices.

O’Malley: The other big challenge we have is climate change. The greatest business opportunity to come to the United States of America in 100 years. We need to embrace this. I have put forward a plan that does this, that moves us to 100 percent clean electric grid by 2050. Join this campaign for the future. New leadership is what our country needs to move us out of these divided and polarized times. Thank you.

See the climate positions of the original full slate of Democratic presidential candidates: Martin O’Malley, Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, Lincoln Chaffee, Larry Lessig and Jim Webb