Pete Buttigieg in 2019 Town Hall

On Energy & Oil: Set up climate action plan as South Bend Mayor

BUTTIGIEG: We are under way on a climate action plan. We committed joining with cities around the world to live up to the Paris commitments, even if the national governments are failing to do it. And right now we have built the capacity to assess what's happening with greenhouse gases in our city and act on it. We have undertaken energy savings contracts to make our buildings more energy efficient, set up electric vehicle charging points. And we're doing it because we're living in a country where our national government has failed. Now, having said all that, the reality is, cities can't do it alone. This is going to require action at every level of government and beyond government. We are only going to be able to tackle the climate issue when this amounts to a major national project that enlists the abilities of the public sector, the private sector, the academic sector, and rural America.

On Energy & Oil: Polluters pay carbon tax; redistribute it to those affected

BUTTIGIEG: Absolutely. It's one of the reasons why I've proposed that we assess a carbon tax. And I know you're not supposed to use the T word when you're in politics, but we might as well call this what it is. There is a harm being done, and in the same way that we have taxed cigarettes, we're going to have to tax carbon. Now, the difference with my plan is that I propose that we rebate all of the revenue we collect right back out to the American people on a progressive basis, so that low- and middle-income Americans are made more than whole. I'm proposing that the carbon tax is something whose incidence is on the polluters, not on the American people, especially lower-income people.

On Energy & Oil: No more intermediate steps: de-carbonize industry by 2050

BUTTIGEIG: We've got to make sure we have the right kind of incentives for that. Expand the tax credits, set them up in the right way and make sure eventually that we are requiring that emissions fall to zero in American auto production. By the way, when we do that the companies can respond, the American auto industry is capable of great innovation but we've got to set up the left and right boundaries for that. Carbon taxing is part of that. Regulations are part of that.

Q: What about coal being removed from the economy in 10 years?

BUTTIGEIG: We envision that taking longer but I will say that we've got to do it as quickly as humanly possible because we see the consequences are upon us. Our vision includes de-carbonizing industry on a net basis completely by 2050, but intermediate steps from making sure our light vehicles and then our heavy vehicles and then our power grid are each in turn eventually turning into zero emissions.

On Environment: Regulate plastics; incentives for non-plastic replacements

BUTTIGEIG: It does, because this is one more example of where corporations are literally pushing out the true cost of what they do into a place where it can't be seen only it comes back to us. It ruins environments and it is profoundly irresponsible. So we need to make sure that we have regulations and incentives that promote things like biodegradable alternatives to plastic. There's already so much going into this--we've got to double down on those kinds of investments so that we feel proud rather than guilty when we do handle something that takes the place of plastic, looks like plastic but it is much more responsible for the environment.

On Families & Children: Generational justice for those who'll come in the future

BUTTIGIEG: Well, we're hoping to have kids one day. And I want to know that our kids can thrive. When I got into this campaign, I talked a lot about the idea of generational justice. And at first, people looked at me funny, because I don't think it's something that's been talked about much, but each of us has an obligation to do our part not only to be just to those around us, but to those who will come in the future. When we're on the campaign trail, the questions I get from kids are almost always either about gun violence or about climate. These are personal questions. They're asking about whether they're going to be able to thrive. Again, it's why I think this isn't just saving the planet. This is saving the future for specific people who are alive right now.

On Foreign Policy: Syrian Civil War partially based on climate security

But I think the real issue, especially in very conservative places like where I live in Indiana, the real conversation we've got to have is about what's at stake here beyond the traditional battle lines that have been drawn. This ought to be a bipartisan issue. This once was a bipartisan issue. And now it's gone completely off the rails.

So let's talk about some other dimensions of what's at stake. Let's talk about national security at a time when our military leaders say that this is one of the greatest threats to stability. There's a lot of evidence that the Syria civil war is one of the first that was partly caused as a consequence of climate change. We really want to talk about security, let's talk about securing the lives of future generations.

On Technology: Can't solve problem by air travel ban; focus on fast trains

BUTTIGIEG: Look, I'm interested in decarbonizing the fuel that goes into air travel. I also don't believe we're going to abolish air travel. But we do need to do more to provide alternatives to air travel. I think about the train system, in a country that views itself as the greatest, most modern, the most sophisticated in the world. How is it that we have such an inferior train system when trains are a lot easier to power on a green basis because they run on electricity?

I'm not even asking for asking for Japanese-level trains. Just give me like Italian-level trains and we would be way ahead of where we are right now, but that's going to require policy choices and investment. And if anybody says we shouldn't subsidize trains--think about just how many ways we subsidize driving which is among the most carbon intensive things we could be doing.

On Welfare & Poverty: Every religion says we should care for our neighbors

BUTTIGIEG: Let's talk in language that is understood across the heartland about faith. If you believe that God is watching as poison is being belched into the air of creation, and people are being harmed by it, countries are at risk of vanishing in low-lying areas, what do you suppose God think of that? I bet he thinks it's messed up. You don't have to be religious to see the moral dimensions of this, because, frankly, every religious and non-religious moral tradition tells us that we have some responsibility of stewardship, some responsibility for taking care of what's around us, not to mention taking care of our neighbor. And eventually it gets to the point where this is more about specific people suffering specific harm because of what we're doing right now. At least one way of talking about this is that it's a kind of sin.