Klobuchar on climate change

Boldest: Klobuchar

The Times noted in the story that this question was intended to “capture their level of focus on the issue.” In reality, the question worked more to gauge their optimism and sense of agency on the issue. Klobuchar was the only candidate to definitively say it wasn’t possible to reverse course: “You can’t stop climate change, but you can respond to this crisis in a meaningful way that will reduce greenhouse gases.”

The remaining candidates declared they thought it was definitely possible (as long as you have the right can-do attitude), that a committed president could certainly do a whole lot to slow or stop it, or that it would take a collaborative effort (either with the American people or with global partners) but it was still feasible, eventually. Some candidates dodged the question by simply saying how urgent it was to try to do something about it. “I think the next president must take on the issue of global climate change like the humanitarian urgency that it is,” Klobuchar said. “It is the greatest threat to humanity that exists. And so I think that global climate change should be a moonshot for this generation to say we are going to have a green economy in the next 10 years.”