YOU’VE MADE CLIMATE CHANGE A CENTRAL POINT TO YOUR POLITICAL
CAREER.
CAREER. ON THE ISSUES OF MAKING CHANGE
THAT LASTS AND PERMANENT, COULD
YOU ADDRESS THAT, SIR IN.
>> RACHEL, I’M THE ONLY PERSON
ON THIS STAGE THAT WILL SAY
CLIMATE IS THE NUMBER ONE
PRIORITY FOR ME.
VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN WON’T SAY
IT.
IT. SENATOR WARREN WON’T SAY IT.
IT’S A STATE OF EMERGENCY, AND I
WOULD DECLARE A STATE OF
EMERGENCY ON DAY ONE.
I WOULD USE THE EMERGENCY POWERS
OF THE PRESIDENCY.
I KNOW THAT WE HAVE TO DO THIS.
I’VE SPENT A DECADE FIGHTING AND
BEATING OIL COMPANIES, STOPPING
PIPELINES, STOPPING FOSSIL FUEL
PLANTS, ENSURING CLEAN ENERGY
ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
I KNOW THAT WE HAVE TO DO THIS.
I ALSO KNOW THAT WE CAN DO THIS.
I WOULD MAKE THIS THE NUMBER ONE
PRIORITY OF MY FOREIGN POLICY AS
WELL.
WELL. WE CAN DO THIS AND CREATE
LITERALLY MILLIONS OF GOOD
PAYING UNION JOBS ACROSS THIS
COUNTRY.
COUNTRY. I WOULD MAKE SURE THAT MY
CLIMATE POLICY WAS LED BY
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, AND
MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITIES WHERE
THIS SOCIETY HAS CHOSEN TO PUT
OUR AIR AND WATER POLLUTION
WHICH ARE IN LOW INCOME BLACK
AND BROWN COMMUNITIES.
AND WHEN WE’RE ASKED HOW ARE WE
GOING TO PULL THIS COUNTRY
TOGETHER?
TOGETHER? HOW ABOUT THIS.
WE SAVE THE WORLD AND DO IT
TOGETHER.
TOGETHER. DO YOU THINK THAT WOULD PULL
AMERICA TOGETHER?
AMERICA TOGETHER? I DO.
I DO. >> QUICKLY VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN,
YOU WERE NAME CHECKED THERE.
>> I WAS.
>> I WAS. I THINK IT IS THE EXISTENTIAL
THREAT TO HUMANITY.
IT’S THE NUMBER ONE ISSUE.
AND I MIGHT ADD, I DON’T REALLY
NEED A KIND OF LECTURE FROM MY
FRIEND.
FRIEND. WHILE I WAS PASSING A FIRST
CLIMATE CHANGE BILL AND WAS IN
FACT A GAME CHANGER, WHILE I
MANAGED THE $90 BILLION RECOVERY
PLAN INVESTING MORE MONEY IN
INFRASTRUCTURE RELATED TO CLEAN
ENERGY THAN ANY TIME WE’VE EVER
DONE IT, MY FRIEND WAS
INTRODUCING MORE COAL MINES AND
PRODUCED MORE COAL AROUND THE
WORLD, ACCORDING TO THE PRESS,
THAN ALL OF GREAT BRITAIN
PRODUCES.
PRODUCES. NOW, I WELCOME HIM BACK INTO THE
FOLD HERE, AND HE’S BEEN THERE
FOR A LONG WHILE.
BUT THE IDEA WE TALK ABOUT WHERE
WE STARTED AND HOW WE ARE, LET’S
GET THIS STRAIGHT, I THINK IT IS
THE EXISTENTIAL THREAT OF
ALL-TIME.
ALL-TIME. >> YOU MAY RESPOND, MR. STEYER.
>> LOOK, I CAME TO THE
CONCLUSION OVER TEN YEARS AGO
THAT CLIMATE WAS THE ABSOLUTE
PROBLEM OF OUR SOCIETY, AND IT
WAS THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCE
OF OUR WHOLE COUNTRY BEING BASED
ON FOSSIL FUELS.
EVERYBODY IN THIS ROOM HAS LIVED
IN AN ECONOMY BASED ON FOSSIL
FUELS.
FUELS. AND WE ALL HAVE TO COME TO THE
SAME CONCLUSION THAT I CAME TO
OVER A DECADE AGO.
IF WE’RE WAITING FOR CONGRESS TO
PASS ONE OF THE BILLS, AND I
KNOW EVERYBODY ON THIS STAGE
CARES ABOUT THIS.
BUT CONGRESS HAS NEVER PASSED AN
IMPORTANT CLIMATE BILL EVER.
THIS IS A PROBLEM WHICH
CONTINUES TO GET WORSE.
THAT’S WHY I’M SAYING IT’S A
STATE OF EMERGENCY.
THAT’S WHY I’M SAYING IT’S
PRIORITY ONE.
PRIORITY ONE. IF IT ISN’T PRIORITY ONE, IT’S
NOT GOING TO GET DONE.
AND THIS IS SOMETHING WHERE WE
ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO ADDRESS IT UP
FRONT.
FRONT. WE HAVE TO MAKE IT THE MOST
IMPORTANT THING.
IMPORTANT THING. AND WE CAN USE IT TO REBUILD AND
REIMAGINE WHAT THE UNITED STATES
IS.
IS. WE CAN BE THE MORAL LEADERS OF
THE WORLD AGAIN WHILE WE CLEANUP
OUR AIR AND WATER AND CREATE
MILLIONS OF GOOD PAYING JOBS.
>> SENATOR SANDERS --
>> I WAS ALSO NAMED IN THAT.
>> YOU WERE.
>> YOU TALKED ABOUT THE NEED TO
MAKE CLIMATE CHANGE A NATIONAL
EMERGENCY.
EMERGENCY. I’VE INTRODUCED LEGISLATION TO
JUST DO THAT.
NOW I DISAGREE WITH THE THRUST
OF THE ORIGINAL QUESTION BECAUSE
YOUR QUESTION HAS SAID WHAT WITH
WE GOING TO DO IN DECADES?
WE DON’T HAVE DECADES.
WHAT THE SCIENTISTS ARE TELLING
US IF WE DON’T GET OUR ACT
TOGETHER WITHIN THE NEXT 8 OR 9
YEARS, WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
CITIES ALL OVER THE WORLD, MAJOR
CITIES GOING UNDER WATER.
WE’RE TALKING ABOUT INCREASED
DROUGHT.
DROUGHT. WE’RE TALKING ABOUT INCREASED
EXTREME WEATHER DISTURBANCES.
THE UNITED NATIONS IS TELLING US
THAT IN THE YEARS TO COME THERE
ARE GOING TO BE HUNDREDS OF
MILLIONS OF CLIMATE REFUGEES
CAUSING NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES
ALL OVER THE WORLD.
WHAT WE HAVE GOT TO DO TONIGHT,
AND I WILL DO AS PRESIDENT IS TO
TELL THE FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY
THAT THEIR SHORT-TERM PROFITS
ARE NOT MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE
FUTURE OF THIS PLANET.
AND BY THE WAY, THE FOSSIL FUEL
INDUSTRY IS PROBABLY CRIMINALLY
LIABLE BECAUSE THEY HAVE LIED
AND LIED AND LIED WHEN THEY HAD
THE EVIDENCE THAT THEIR CARBON