Democrats seeking to unseat Donald Trump see an opportunity in the U.S. president's refusal to embrace scientific evidence that man-made climate change would have devastating effects.
With voters increasingly tuned in to the environment, the party's 2020 presidential candidates are proposing solutions that would have been viewed as politically unthinkable just four years ago.
As Ari Natter reports, a crowded field of candidates are trying to outdo one another on who is greener. That explains why front-runner Joe Biden — whose policies generally hew more to the political center — released an ambitious plan yesterday that seeks to achieve 100% clean energy and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Biden's Democratic rivals have tried to paint him as weak on the issue and beholden to Obama administration policies they consider too timid. Other candidates are trumpeting expansive plans that go far beyond the policies of Trump's predecessor.
But there's a risk. While such proposals are likely to draw strong support from progressives, they could make Democrats less palatable to the blue-collar and Midwestern voters who fear the impact of tough climate rules on jobs and the economy.
— Kathleen Hunter
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