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Pete Buttigieg on Energy & Oil
Democratic Presidential Challenger; IN Mayor
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The EV revolution will happen with or without us
The reality is the effects of climate change are already upon us in terms of our transportation. We've seen that in the form of everything from heat waves that shouldn't statistically even be possible, threatening to melt the cables of
transit systems in the pacific northwest, to hurricane seasons becoming more and more extreme and indications that turbulence is up by about 15 percent. That means assessing anything and everything that we can do about it.
Every single year more Americans buy EVs than the year prior. There are two things that I think are needed for that to happen even more quickly. One is the price, which is why the Inflation Reduction Act acted to cut the price of an electric vehicle.
The second is making sure we have the charging network we need across America. The most important thing is that the EV revolution will happen with or without us. And we've got to make sure that it's American led.
Source: CBS Face the Nation on 2024 Democratic Veepstakes
, May 26, 2024
Deadline for climate change isn't 2050, it's 2020
Let's be real about the deadline. It's not 2050, it's not 2040, it's not 2030. It's 2020. Because if we don't elect a president who actually believes in climate science now, we will never meet any of the other scientific or policy deadlines that
we need to. We need leadership to make this a national project that breaks down the partisan and political tug of war that prevents anything from getting done.
Source: 9th Democrat 2020 primary debate, in Las Vegas Nevada
, Feb 19, 2020
Have to break idea that choice is between climate and jobs
Q: How do you protect our climate and economy simultaneously?BUTTIGIEG: There is no question there will be a transition. I'm proposing that we invest over $200 billion in supporting workers through that transition. But we also estimate that we will
create at least 3 million net new jobs by taking the action we must, to mobilize and fight climate change. We've got to break this idea that we're choosing between doing the right thing for our climate and doing the right thing for our economy.
Source: CNN Town Hall 2020 with Erin Burnett
, Feb 18, 2020
Put environmental justice at the core of our climate plan
In Australia there are literally tornadoes made of fire taking place. We have to ensure that we don't allow this to get any worse. And if we get right, farmers will be a huge part of the solution. We need to reach out to the very people who have
sometimes been made to feel that accepting climate science would be a defeat for them, whether we're talking about farmers or industrial workers in my community, and make clear that we need to enlist them in the national project to do something about it.
We are going to have to use federal funds to make sure that we are supporting those whose lives will inevitably be impacted further by the increased severity and the increased frequency. And by the way, that is happening to farms, that is happening
to factories, and that disproportionately happens to black and brown Americans, which is why equity and environmental justice have to be at the core of our climate plan going forward.
Source: 7th Democrat primary debate, on eve of Iowa caucus
, Jan 14, 2020
Make all Americans part of the climate solution
All these plans we have to get carbon neutral by 2050, their impact is multiplied by zero unless something actually gets done.
That is why our vision for climate includes people from the auto worker to a farmer, so that they understand we are asking them to be part of the solution. Not telling them they are part of the problem.
Source: Newshour/Politico/PBS December Democratic primary debate
, Dec 19, 2019
Conservative farmers are part of the climate change solution
Q: would you continue farm subsidies?BUTTIGIEG: Farming should be one of the pillars of how we combat climate change. I believe the quest for the carbon negative farm could be as big a symbol as the electric car. It's an important part of how we make
sure we recruit everybody to be part of the solution, including conservative communities where a lot of people have been made to feel that admitting climate science would mean acknowledging they're part of the problem.
Source: November Democratic primary debate in Atlanta
, Nov 20, 2019
Trump's EPA small refinery waivers benefitted big oil
[On EPA rules from the Trump administration]: "Biofuels provide promising opportunities in rural America that drive our country forward and help reduce emissions," says Buttigieg. "Yet, Trump's small refinery waivers
have benefited big oil companies at the expense of Iowa farmers. And jobs and incomes have been lost in the process. Farmers deserve better. As president, I will end this administration's abuse of 'small refinery' waivers."
Source: KIMT-3 News (Rochester/Austin) on Biden Transition
, Nov 4, 2019
Set up climate action plan as South Bend Mayor
Q: Under your leadership, South Bend does not yet have a climate action plan.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.
Source: CNN Climate Crisis Town Hall marathon (10 Democrats)
, Sep 4, 2019
Polluters pay carbon tax; redistribute it to those affected
Q: You have a new proposal out about how municipalities can work using the Defense Department. You talk about how farmers can deal with it. Not as much attention paid to what you'd do to those who produce the fossil fuels & are making the money off it.
Is that part of your plan? 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.
Source: CNN Climate Crisis Town Hall marathon (10 Democrats)
, Sep 4, 2019
No more intermediate steps: de-carbonize industry by 2050
Q: What do you do to incentivize electric cars?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.
Source: CNN Climate Crisis Town Hall marathon (10 Democrats)
, Sep 4, 2019
Federal investment in renewable tech for farms
Q: How will you help farmers meet environmental regulations?BUTTIGIEG: Uncertainty is one of the biggest enemies that a farmer has, and we're adding an awful lot of it with what's happening with climate change. Rural Americans can be a huge part of
the solution. To me, the quest for the net zero emissions cattle farm is one of the most exciting things we might undertake as a country. It can be done right now, scientifically, but it's completely unaffordable. We need to change the eco
And, yes, that means federal investment.
Q: You support a carbon tax?
BUTTIGIEG: We need balance in all of our consumption patterns and part of what a carbon tax and dividend does is it resets the price signals in the market to help make that happen
without ordering Americans to abandon something. Instead we change the economic signals. We bring it into balance, which is what we have lost when it comes to our relationship with creation, with the earth that sustains our ability to live
Source: Climate Crisis Town Hall (CNN 2019 Democratic primary)
, Sep 4, 2019
Military can play huge role in solving climate change
Q: What is your plan to ensure that the military helps to solve the climate crisis instead of contributing to it?
BUTTIGIEG: The exciting thing is that the military can be a huge part of the solution. The military's got an amazing capacity to rally to achieve what is being asked of them.
By making sure, for example, fleet and future uses of fuel are relying on biofuels, by making sure the installed base of the American military footprint is carbon neutral or negative.
The purchasing power of the U.S. military and the resolve of our service members to get stuff done could help lead the way for the rest of society.
Source: Climate Crisis Town Hall (CNN 2019 Democratic primary)
, Sep 4, 2019
We have 12 years until climate catastrophe
Science tells us we have 12 years before we reach the horizon of catastrophe when it comes to our climate. By 2030, the average house in this country will cost half a million bucks and a women's right to choose may not even exist. We are not going
to be able to meet this moment by recycling the same arguments, policies, and politicians that have dominated Washington for as long as I have been alive. We've got to summon the courage to walk away from the past and do something different.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (first night in Detroit)
, Jul 30, 2019
US must lead the way in exit of coal-fired power
The US needs to lead the way in the global exit of coal-fired power. I will quadruple clean energy research and development in the US and enact additional policies to support the deployment of renewables, storage, carbon capture and energy
efficiency in homes and building retrofits. The US will work through global institutions to reduce and end global fossil fuel subsidies, many of which have unfairly favored coal, starting at home.
Source: Council on Foreign Relations on 2020 presidential primary
, Jul 30, 2019
Ban fracking
Pete Buttigieg on Fossil Fuels vs. Renewable Energy: Ban fracking. 11 CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Cory Booker; Bill de Blasio; Tulsi Gabbard; Kirsten Gillibrand; Jay Inslee; Wayne Messam; Bernard Sanders; Thomas Steyer; Eric Swalwell;
Elizabeth Warren; Marianne Williamson.The rise of fracking has enabled energy companies to produce vast amounts of oil and gas from shale rock formations, but the process remains controversial because of the use of chemicals to crack the rock.
Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
, Jul 17, 2019
Pittsburgh Summit instead of Paris Summit
Rural America can be part of the solution instead of being told they're part of the problem. With the right kind of soil management and investments, rural America could be a huge part of how we get this done.
We've got to look to the leadership of those networks of mayors in cities from around the world. We should have a Pittsburgh summit where we bring them together, as well as rejoining the Paris [accords].
Source: June Democratic Primary debate (second night in Miami)
, Jun 27, 2019
Money from carbon tax should go to American families
Buttigieg said he supports a [carbon] tax but advocates for returning the money generated by the fee to
American families--a scheme favored by some Republicans.
Source: Mother Jones magazine on "2020 Dems on Climate Change"
, Apr 20, 2019
Institute carbon tax, to capture the true cost of things
Q: As president, would you keep the U.S. in the Paris Agreement and commit to more ambitious targets in 2020?A: Yes.
Q: Do you support a federal carbon tax?
A: "We're going to have to contemplate a carbon tax. And there are ways to do it that
most Americans would be better off fiscally, because we could return it right back to the American people, but in so doing would help capture the true cost of things that are happening right now, because it's in your and my lifetime that that cost is
going to be paid one way or the other." At a rally in Iowa, he said definitively, "We're going to have to have a carbon tax."
Q: Would you restore Obama-era climate change regulations that the Trump administration has reversed, like the Clean Power
Plan, methane limits and vehicle emissions standards?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you support increasing federal funding for clean-energy research?
A: Yes.
Source: 2019 "Meet the Candidates" (NY Times.com)
, Apr 18, 2019
Timetable on climate set by reality, not by Congress
I'm thinking about what the world's going to look like in 2054 when I get to the current age of the current president. And if we don't act aggressively and immediately on climate, it's not going to be a pretty picture.
If we can't do carbon free, then we'll do net carbon free, which means that we're taking out as much as we're putting in. The bottom line is, scientifically, the right year to do that was yesterday. We have got to do this.
This timetable isn't being set in Congress. It's being set by reality. It's being set by science. And it's going to hit. Those deadlines are going to hit in our climate with or without us.
What the green new deal gets right is it recognizes there's also a lot of economic opportunity in this. Retrofitting building means a huge amount of jobs for the building trades in this country.
Source: Fox News Sunday 2019 interviews for 2020 Democratic primary
, Mar 19, 2019
Climate security is priority, invest in renewables
We need our expectations of 21st century security to include the concept of climate security. We've got to make sure we are reducing carbon levels at least to the kinds of commitments that were in the Paris Accord, which we should
rejoin immediately when the new president takes office. More investments in renewables are going to be needed. We're going to have to contemplate a carbon tax. There are ways to do it that most Americans would be better off fiscally.
Source: CNN Town Hall: back-to-back 2020 presidential hopefuls
, Mar 10, 2019
Supports Paris climate accord and Green New Deal
Buttigieg considers climate change a national security threat and a problem that will impact younger Americans and future generations. He supports every U.S. house becoming "net zero" consumer of energy, and is in favor of the government subsidizing
solar panels. Buttigieg was one of 407 U.S. mayors who signed a pact to adhere to the Paris climate accord after President Donald Trump pulled out of the international agreement 2017. He supports the "Green New Deal."
Source: PBS Newshour on 2020 Democratic primary
, Feb 15, 2019
Green New Deal is a framework addressing climate & jobs
I think the elegance from a policy perspective of the concept of the
Green New Deal is, it matches a sense of urgency about that problem of climate change with a sense of opportunity around what the solutions might represent.
Obviously, the Green New Deal is more of a plan than it is a fully articulated set of policies. But the idea that we need to race toward that goal and that we
should do it in a way that enhances the economic justice and the level of economic opportunity in our country, I believe that's exactly the right direction to be going in.
Source: CNN 2019 "State of the Union" on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
, Feb 10, 2019
Observe Paris Climate Agreement in city, if not federally.
Buttigieg signed the Letter from ClimateMayors.org
Statement from the Climate Mayors in Response to President Trump`s Withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement: As 407 US Mayors representing 70 million Americans, we will adopt, honor, and uphold the commitments to the goals enshrined in the Paris Agreement. We will push for new action to meet the 1.5 degrees Celsius target, and work together to create a 21st century clean energy economy.
We will continue to lead. We are increasing investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency. We will buy and create more demand for electric cars and trucks. We will increase our efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions, create a clean energy economy, and stand for environmental justice. And if the President wants to break the promises made to our allies enshrined in the historic Paris Agreement, we`ll build and strengthen relationships around the world to protect the planet from devastating climate risks.
Opposing argument from the Heritage Foundation, 6/1/2017:
President Donald Trump has fulfilled a key campaign pledge. The Paris Agreement, which committed the U.S. to drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions, was a truly bad deal. Here are four reasons Trump was right to withdraw.- The Paris Agreement was costly and ineffective--$2.5 trillion in gross domestic product by the year 2035.
- The agreement wasted taxpayer money. The Obama administration ended up shipping $1 billion in taxpayer dollars to corrupt governments, not those who actually need it.
- Withdrawal is a demonstration of leadership. The media is making a big to-do about the fact that the only countries not participating in the Paris Agreement are Syria and Nicaragua. But misery loves company, including North Korea and Iran, who are signatories of the deal.
- Withdrawal is good for American energy competitiveness. The best way for American energy companies to be competitive is to be innovative, not build their business models around international agreements.
Source: Statement from 407 US Mayors on ClimateMayors.org 19-LTR-CM on Apr 15, 2019
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