What is going on in Washington, D.C.? A bubbling House Democrat feud followed by a series of racially offensive presidential tweets has unleashed chaos in the U.S. capital. Meanwhile, there’s one thing we’re not seeing much of: governing.
In this episode of Political Climate we look at where we’re seeing attempts at climate action, and where we’re seeing a whole lot of climate distraction. A slate of clean energy bills has been introduced in Congress this year, including technology-neutral tax credits, clean energy requirements for utilities, and plans to increase funding for energy research. Do they have any hope of passing before the 2020 election?
We also take a look at President Trump’s recent speech on the environment and the launch of a new Republican caucus focused on conservation. Does this prove that Republicans are seeing a real need to show leadership on the environment?
Finally, we check in on the Democratic presidential primary, which just saw billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer enter the race and momentum slide for a candidate forum of climate change.
Recommended reading:
- GTM: Clean Energy Policy Push Faces Steep Climb Ahead of 2020 Election
- The Hill: Republicans Form Conservation Caucus to Take on Environment, Climate Change
- Huffington Post: Fox News Cuts Into Trump Speech to Deliver a Brutal Real-Time Fact Check
- Gizmodo: Update on Our 2020 Climate Summit
- Politico: Schwarzenegger to Trump: 'You Have to Dial Down Donald'
Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute and The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation.
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